


A Wonderful Partnership

by TheWayofLife



Series: A Wonderful Partnership [1]
Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-03-22 03:52:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13755729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWayofLife/pseuds/TheWayofLife
Summary: This fanfic is a 'What if' story: What if Booth & Brennan are married early on in the show.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own bones but I wish I did
> 
> This is story is starting from season 1.

**Chapter 1: Pilot**

Angela rushes to the arrival boards looking for the gate of her best friend's flight arrival. "I'm late…" The boards start to malfunction causing Angela to get frustrated even more so than the fact that she was late. "This board is broken. The arrivals board is not working." She looks around for help asking, "Uh, did anybody meet the flight from Guatemala? Aviateca airlines? What gate? Yeah, right. I'm late." She sees the customer service desk and walks up to it.

"Excuse me, uh, you have a computer glitch at the arrivals board." Yet she gets no response. That just makes her even madder. "Hello! Sir, excuse me, yoo-hoo…" The man there had the gull to hold up his finger to her. "Great." Doing the only thing she knows will get this ignorant man's attention, Angela rips open her shirt revealing a rather sexy lacy bustier. Which, of course, does get the man's attention. "Yeah. Hi. The flight from Guatemala?"

In the background you see a woman with brilliant blue eyes and her brown hair up into a ponytail say, "Tell me you tried 'Excuse me' first." She smiles warmly at Angela as she turns around.

Angela recognizes that voice in an instant and runs to engulf her in a hug while saying, "Sweeeeeetie. Yes, I did. Welcome home." They hug for a little longer and then they start walking toward the exit with Angela firing off questions, "Are you exhausted? Was Guatemala awful? Was it horribly backwards?"

Brennan smiles and jokes, "And yet I was never reduced to flashing my boobs for information."

Angela goes right along with it, "Flash them for any fun reasons?"

Of course, Brennan being her literal self says, "I was literally, neck deep in a mass grave, not romantic."

Angela – thinking that Brennan went on her latest adventure due to her ex-boyfriend – says, "You know, diving in a pit of cadavers is no way to handle a messy break up."

Brennan feels a twinge of guilt at deceiving her best friend like this but she lies, "Angela, nothing Pete and I ever did was messy." All the while Brennan can feel the ring around her necklace pressing against her chest.

Angela just laughs, "Then you were not doing the right things."

Brennan doesn't know what that means, however she has noticed a man has been following them. So she suddenly stops and drops her bag to confront this man. She goes right up to him and asks, "Sir, why are you following us?"

The unknown man grabs her arm trying to bring her in, but Brennan knowing martial arts and from other training, moves faster than the man and brings him down to the ground with a few arm swings and knee kicks.

Angela starts to yell, "Attack! Security! Hello! Who runs this airport?" She then starts to hit the man with her own purse and says, "Kick his ass sweetie!"

As all of this is happening the police arrive and raise their weapons. One officer says, "Police! Ma'am, step back now!"

Brennan looks at the cops like they're crazy, "He attacked me!"

The man on the ground yells to her, "I'm Homeland Security!"

Angela seeing the whole mess they were now in says, "Oh, little misunderstanding here."

Since the police still had their guns pointing at Brennan, she raised her arms up and stated with authority, "You can put away your guns."

The officers actually start to lower their weapons, but the man from Homeland Security says while he starts to get up, "What is she in charge now? No. I'll tell you when you can lower your weapons." The police raise their weapons one more time while the Homeland Security man orders Brennan, "Hand over the bag."

Brennan says annoyed, "Oh, is that what this is about?" She reaches down for her bag and hands it over to the agent. The agent opens her bag to only find a human skull nestled within it.

Brennan – already knowing what is in there – says, "Boo." The agent drops the bag as one officer comes up behind Brennan to bring her, with Angela smile all the while.

~BONES~

Brennan is trying to explain to the agent why she has the skull, "I am Doctor Temperance Brennan. I've been in Guatemala for two months identifying victims of genocide including him." She gestures the skull that is sitting on the table.

The agent tries to reason with Brennan, trying to get her to "say" something she shouldn't, "Most people in this situation, what they do is, they sweat it."

Brennan is still unfazed – and actually bored. She just really wants to get home. "Guatemala. Genocide. How are you scary after that?"

The agent just nods his head and says, "You know who doesn't sweat it?" A security guard behind him says, "Sociopaths."

Brennan takes offense to that, "I am not a sociopath, I'm an anthropologist at the Jeffersonian."

The agent then adds, "Who works for the FBI. Which I'd maybe believe if you had an ID that did more than allowed you access to the cafeteria."

While the agent is saying this, a man in a suit enters the room carrying a book with him.

Unfazed by the male, the agent continues, "You were illegally transporting human remains ma'am and you assaulted a Homeland Security agent."

Brennan reaches out to somewhat show her not-wholehearted remorse says, "Look, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your friends but, next time you should identify yourself before attacking me." She then turns to the man in the suit. She felt his presence immediately but knew she had to keep up the charade. "What are you doing here?"

Booth steps forward, showing his badge, and says, "FBI. Special Agent Seeley Booth, Major Crime Investigation, D.C. Bones identifies bodies for us."

Brennan loving that little nickname he gave her but won't admit it says, "Don't call me Bones." She then turns to the agent and says, "And I do more than identify."

Booth holds up the book and slides it across the table to the agent. "She also writes books."

The agent looks down at the book and examines it for a few seconds, all the while Brennan is wondering why Booth was there to "bail" her out. The agent finally speaks, "Fine. She's all yours."

Booth trying to get out of there as fast as possible says, "Great. Let's grab your skull and let's vamoose."

Brennan not believing any of this jumps up from her seat and says indignantly, "What! That's it? She's all yours? Why did you stop me?"

Booth trying his hardest to get her off the topic reaches for the bag the agent put on the table and says, "Why does it matter? You're free to go. Let's just grab your bags, click, click, clang, clang."

Brennan finally seeing all the pieces to the puzzle says to Booth, "You set me up." Turning to the agent she states, "You got a hold for questioning request from the FBI didn't you?"

The agent just looks at Booth. Brennan turns toward Booth not believing what he risked. And Booth knows that they were so going to have another little spat about this.

The agent looks back to Brennan and says, "I love this book." And he hands it back to her.

Brennan – who is ultimately pissed – grabs the book and then the skull. She walks past Booth telling him, "Come on."

~BONES~

Brennan is seated next to him in his SUV and says, "That's the best you can do?"

Booth playing dumb says, "What?"

Brennan knowing what he's doing goes along with it because she wants to have just a little fun with him says, "Getting Homeland Security to snatch me so that you can stage a fake rescue."

Booth looking lovingly toward Brennan says, "Well, at least I picked you up at the airport huh?" He then sent her that smile he knew she couldn't resist.

She only smiled at him slightly, "You shouldn't have done that."

Booth sighed, "Hey, come on. I went through the appropriate channels but your assistant there, he stonewalled me!"

Brennan grabbed the ring hanging around her neck and played with it while saying, "Yeah, well after the last case I told Zach to never, ever to put you through. He's a good assistant. And you know why I had to tell him that."

Booth looked at his wife and smiled at her, "I know and I love you too."

Brennan not liking that her husband sort of won this one said, "You can let me out anywhere along here."

Booth knowing that he should just get straight to the reason why he almost blew their secret, said, "Alright, listen. A decomposed corpse was found this morning at Arlington National Cemetery down..."

Temperance not really wanting to hear the reasons why says, "Arlington National Cemetery is full of decomposed corpses, it's a cemetery."

Booth tried to clarify it for her, "Yeah, but this one is your type of corpse. It wasn't in a casket."

Brennan seeing what he was saying – she had a case with him – told him, "If you drive one more block, I'm screaming 'kidnap' out the window. I just got back from looking at hundreds of dead people Booth. Let's just go home."

Booth would love to do that exact thing and a few other things, but he just couldn't stop in the middle of a case to do what he wanted. There was a murderer out there. "I know that, and I would love to go home to but Bones…"

Brennan didn't want to hear it, "Pull over."

Booth not really wanting to argue while driving does just that. Unfortunately his beautiful, yet stubborn wife, gets out of the SUV and starts walking away saying, "I'm going home. Either you come with me or I'll see you later tonight."

Booth just wanted to get this over with so he could be with his wife tonight said exasperatingly while following her, "Great! Could we… Look, could we just skip this part?"

Brennan couldn't believe that he thought he would win this one too, "I find you very condescending right now."

Booth didn't want to but he couldn't resist saying, "Me! I'm condescending. I'm not the one who's got to mention that she's got a Doctorate every five minutes."

Brennan turned toward, walking backwards and says, "I am the one with the Doctorate."

Booth did not want to fight about this, "Yeah, well you know what? I'm the one with the badge and the gun huh. You know, you're not the only forensic anthropologist in town." Even though he knew that was a lie.

Brennan just laughed at her husband's words, "Yes I am. The next nearest is in Montreal. Parlez-vous francais?"

Booth knew he was going to have to compromise in some way gave up this offer, "What's it going to take?"

Brennan – happy to see that her husband was finally giving in – says, "Full participation in the case."

Booth just said, "Fine." Even though he already hates the risk involved.

Brennan clarified for her husband so he didn't try to work his way out of this deal, "Not just lab work. Everything."

Booth knew what his wife meant and was getting frustrated that they weren't already at the cemetery, "What? Do you want me to spit in my hand? We're Scully and Mulder."

Brennan had no clue what her husband was talking about, "I don't know what that means."

Booth chuckling inside at his wife's lack of pop culture knowledge, says, "It's an olive branch, just get back in the car."

Brennan smiles at him and starts to walk toward the car holding hands with her husband. "Thank you Booth."

Right before she enters the car Booth spins her around and places his hands by the side of her head. "Anything for you Bones."

She was just starting to say, "Don't call me Bones." When finally her husband kissed her. All of their pent up frustration and passion went into that kiss. Brennan dropped her bag to lace her fingers through Booth's hair, tugging him even closer. Before long, Booth had her pinned against the door wanting to do a lot more to his wife than just kiss her. Without even thinking about it, Brennan wrapped her legs around his waist – feeling his evident arousal. She moaned inside his mouth, which snapped Booth – unfortunately – out of their public display.

He rested his forehead against her own, panting heavily. "Bones, we need to get to the cemetery."

Brennan pouted slightly, "You started it. I've been gone for two months Booth…"

Booth said under his breath, "Don't I know it."

However she continued as if he hadn't said anything, "I've missed you and I want to show you how much I've missed you." She provocatively circled her hips, causing friction against his arousal. Involuntarily Booth bucked forward.

"That is not nice babe." He said breathlessly. God what he would do for a private room right about now.

Brennan smiled wickedly at him, "Well, we could go home like I said we should." She then leaned forward to whisper into her husband's ear, like she had a secret, "I can't tell you how aroused I am just by being around you."

Booth leaned his fore head against the SUV's door, reciting the saints in his head. "Babe, we need to go to the cemetery." He heard his wife sigh of frustration. "But I promise you, we will continue this when we get home." With that he gave her one more searing kiss and gently brought her feet back down to the ground.

Brennan watched her husband walking around the SUV, with a little difficulty trying to hide his arousal and smirked as she grabbed her forgotten bag and opened the door. Angela would be so proud.

~BONES~

As they pulled up to the cemetery Booth regained control over his body – which was rather easy since on the drive there his wife told him what she had witnessed while in Guatemala – and they were both in work mode and their façade was up once again: An annoyed anthropologist working for an even more annoyed FBI Agent.

Brennan asked, "What's the context of the find?"

Booth hurried to catch up with his wife as they walked down to the pond, "Routine landscaping dropped a load in the local pond, one of the workmen thought he saw something."

Brenna walks up to the pond to find her assistant, Zach Addy, is already there getting ready for her, "Hi Zach."

Zach smiles at his mentor, "This eco-warrior look works for you."

Brennan smiles at him, "Thanks."

Zach continues to compliment her, "Very action oriented."

Brennan – almost forgetting that this is only suppose to be her second time working with Booth – states, "Agent Booth, you remember my assistant Zach Addy?"

Booth, not really having to pretend his feelings for his wife's assistant, says, "Oh yeah…"

Zach looks to Brennan and asks about her trip, "How was Guatemala? Dig up lots of massacred victims? Learn a thing or two about machete strikes?"

Brennan finds that she doesn't like to mix work with – well technically that was work as well but she really wants to get home – so she tells her assistant, "Zach, I need water samples and temperature readings from the pond."

Zach ready to find approval from his professor says, "Right away Dr. Brennan."

Booth, once again let's his wife know what he thinks of Zach, "He's got no sense of discretion that kid. Typical Squint."

Brennan can hear, 1. Booth's sexual frustration and 2. His overall frustration at the socially inept assistant, in his voice and tries to placate him a little, "Booth…"

Booth sighs quietly, "I know, I know. It's just when cops get stuck, we bring in people like you. You know? Squints. You know, you squint at things."

Brennan just rolls her eyes and says jokingly, "Oh, you mean people with very high IQ's and basic reasoning skills."

Booth smiles candidly at his wife, "Yeah."

She hands off her bag to him as they get ready to go in the boat.

~BONES~

Booth readies the camera, as he slowly lowers it into the pond. Brennan can't help her curiosity, "What exactly am I supposed to be squinting at?"

Booth smirks at her and says, "Oh you know, it's like pornography, you'll know it when you see it." He then caresses her hip slightly.

Brennan smiles gently but the smile soon goes away as she sees the skeleton, "Yeah okay. This is a crime scene."

~BONES~

Brennan is looking at the remains that have been taken out of the pond while Zach is taking pictures of them. "Remains are wrapped in four-milled, flat poly-construction sheeting."

Zach adds his observations, "PVC coated chicken wire."

Brennan makes note of that and continues, "Weighted. That's why the body didn't surface during decomposition. The skeleton is complete but the skull is in fragments."

Booth comes up to the group. He really, really, really just wants to go home with his wife and… "What can you tell me?"

Brennan is frustrated at herself. She has nothing which means she won't be able to go home yet. She sighs quietly, "Not much. She was a young woman, probably between 18 and 22, approximately 5'3", race unknown, delicate features."

Booth almost whines – the operative word being almost – and says, "That's all?"

Brennan smiles gently at her husband's behavior and offers him, "Tennis player."

He still is amazed at what his wife can do and asks, "How do you get a pretty tennis player out of that yuck?"

Zach, unaware of the really meaning behind all of their words, answers, "Epiphyses fusion gives age, pelvic bone shape gives sex."

Brennan points out, "Bursitis in the shoulder. Somebody this young, must be an athletic injury."

Wanting to get this done with tonight asks, "When did she die?"

Brennan knows Booth knows she doesn't like to guess, so she says, "Ehhhh…..

Booth rolls his eyes inside and mocks, "Ehhhh… What does that even mean?"

Zach chimes in, "It means wait until our bug and slime guy takes a look."

Brennan points out another fact, "No clothing."

Booth hates that being said, "You know, in my line of work, no clothes usually means a sex crime."

Brennan tries to reason with her husband, "In my line of work, it could also mean the victim favored natural fibers."

Zach, while still take pictures, tells Booth, "Your suit, for example, will outlast your bones by decades."

Brennan finally feeling satisfied with the work accomplished tells Zach, "Collect silt, 3 meters radius, to a depth of 10 cm." She turns toward her husband and smiles sadly at him knowing she won't be going home tonight, "Your FBI forensics team can take the plastic and the chicken wire, we'll take the rest."

Booth sighs. Great now he'd have to wait even longer to be with his wife.

~BONES~

Brennan looks down at all the skull fragments and begins the whole process. Everything fades away. Before long she finds herself waking up to the smell of coffee. She looks around and decides that she needs to go home to sleep for just a while. Maybe her husband will show up…

~BONES~

Cullen couldn't believe what he just heard, "So, you guaranteed a squint a field role in an active murder investigation."

Booth knew his boss didn't like this one bit, "Yes sir."

Cullen sighed, "The one that wrote the book."

Booth nodded one more time, "Yes sir."

Cullen sighed again, "I thought you said that she wouldn't work with you anymore."

Booth looked down at his lap, "Well, the last case we worked she provided a description of the murder weapon and the murderer but I didn't give her much credence."

Cullen wanted to hear this, "Why not?"

Booth couldn't give his boss the real reason behind that first case, the real argument, so he lied to his boss, "Because she did it by looking at the victim's autopsy x-rays."

Cullen snorted, now that he could believe, "Well I wouldn't give it much credence either."

Booth, feeling proud of what his wife does and couldn't help but boast about her, "Turns out she was right on both plus the pond victim, Brennan gives me the victim's age, sex and favourite sport."

Cullen couldn't believe it, "Which is?"

Booth smirked slightly at the memory, "Tennis."

Cullen definitely couldn't believe it now, "She's good."

Booth, saying so much more than what his boss thought, said, "Oh, she's amazing. If the only way I can get her back to my side is to bring her out in the field, I'm willing."

Cullen thought it over for a few seconds, "Fine. She's on you. Take a squint out in the field, she's your responsibility."

Booth smiled inwardly as he said, "Thank you sir."

~BONES~

Booth walks into their apartment and throws his keys on the counter. He sees his wife's bag on the floor and smiles widely. He walks quietly into their room to find his wife sleeping with only her camisole and her rather sexy lacy underpants. He walks up to her and gently climbs on top of her until his face is mere centimeters away from hers. He gently kisses her lips.

Brennan starts to wake up to the most wonderful wake-up call in two months. Her husband's lips are softly kissing hers and she responds immediately. Without even opening her eyes, she wraps her arms around his neck to bring him closer and wraps her legs around his waist.

Booth loves that his wife responds so eagerly to him and they were back to where they were earlier the day before up against his SUV. Brennan skillfully gets rid of her husband's tie, shirt, suit jacket and his belt all within a couple of minutes. She starts to unbutton his pants as he moves away from her lips to his favorite (and her favorite) spot on her neck. He sucks gently there, eliciting moans from his beautiful wife. The pants – along with his boxers – are finally taken off and somewhere along the way Booth took off Brennan's camisole and undergarments.

Booth stares down at his wife for a few seconds in awe at her beauty. He still can't believe that she's his wife. "God, I love you babe."

Brennan smiles at him softly, "I love you too." With that he places a passionate kiss on her lips and begins the ride to a blissful end. After only a few minutes Booth can already feel his wife's climax impending. He feels her walls starting to contract and it's like heaven for him. Unfortunately, their phone rings.

Even while feeling the best she's felt in a while Brennan can see it's the lab calling. Panting out, "Booth." Her husband already knows what's going to happen, and he'll have none of it. So he lifts her hips up slightly and rocks forward, bringing her even closer to the edge. She moans loudly but still gets out, "The lab is calling."

Booth just wants to shoot that damn phone, but instead he dares her in his sexy, husky voice, "Answer it then."

Brennan always up for a challenge – and hopefully she won't lose at this one – reaches for the phone all the while still making love with her husband. She unintentionally snaps, "What?" in a breathless voice as her husband brings her even closer.

Angela takes the phone away from her ear and looks at it, unsure of what she can hear in the background – but she's pretty sure it sounds like her best friend is… "Sweetie, I made the facial reconstruction."

Brennan holds back a moan, "Thanks, I'll see you soon." But before she can hang up Angela is positive she hears a male grunt of pleasure. And she just smirks.

However Brennan is completely unaware of that as finally, after two months of being away from her husband the break the laws of physics. And become one. Again.

~BONES~

Booth made sure that he came into the lab first. They didn't want the team to think that they were together when they were, in fact, together. Booth couldn't wipe that stupid 'I just made love to my wife' smile off of his face. And then he looked up at Angela's painting. "This is interesting, Angela."

Brennan enters the room, try conceal her own 'after sex glow' from her team, especially Angella. "Good morning. Does Booth know how this works?"

Angela explains what is about to be seen, "This computer program, which I designed, patent pending, accepts a full array of digital input, processes it and then projects it as a three dimensional holographic image."

Booth just looked at the team, "Okay."

Brennan trying to get into Dr. Temperance Brennan mode asked, "You get that?"

Booth could see that she was still trying to get her ground from their love making (which boosted his own inner ego, of course he would never say that out loud). So he tried to help her out, "Yeah, that and the patent pending part."

Angela explained even more to Booth, "Brennan reassembled the skull and applied tissue markers."

Brennan walked up to the Angelator with everyone else and said, "Her skull was badly damaged, but racial indicators, cheekbone dimensions, nasal arch, occipital measurements suggest African American."

Angela put in all of the details and stated, "And…. We have our victim."

Booth brings his fingers through the hologram, amazed. "Whoa. Have to admit, that's pretty cool."

Brennan gently brings down her husband's arm, trying to put the pieces together, without even thinking about it. "Ange, rerun the program substituting Caucasian values."

Angela does as requested and an new image comes up. Brennan couldn't put her finger on it but the victim looked familiar, "Does she look familiar to anyone?"

Booth thought he recognized her, but still said, "No."

Brennan couldn't shake the feeling though and told Angela, "Split the difference, mixed race."

Angela wanted to know how mixed, "Lenny Kravitz or Vanessa Williams?"

Brennan being, of course, naïve to pop culture, says, "I don't know what that means." Angela makes the changes and Booth can't believe what he sees. Brennan says, "Angela, reduce tissue depth over the cheekbones to the jaw line." Angela makes the changes. "Does anyone recognize her?"

Zach shakes his head, "Not me."

Angela isn't so sure anymore, "Wait, is that who I think it is?"

Zach starts to make the connections, "The girl who had the affair with the Senator?"

Booth can't believe it. "Her name is Cleo Louise Eller. Only daughter to Ted and Sharon Eller. Last seen approximately 9pm, April 6, 2003 leaving the Cardio Deluxe Gym on K Street, she didn't even make it to her car. "

Brennan knows what this case means to Booth, but she can't very well comfort him in front of everyone. "Pretty good memory."

Booth looks at his wife and sends her a silent message of pain, "Yeah well, it's my job to find her."

Hodgins – unbeknownst to the silent conversation going on – says, "Well, in that case, congratulations on your success."

Booth breaks eye contact with his wife and says, "This isn't exactly the way I wanted it to end."

~BONES~

Booth still doesn't like that this case has come to this, "Cleo Eller is not just some missing girl."

Hodgins says without thought of how Booth feels, "Yeah, she's a senate intern who was boinking Senator Allen Bethlehem."

A little pissed off now, Booth says, "I was secondary in the investigation to the disappearance of that girl and we couldn't confirm that." Booth turns to his wife and asks, "How did you recognize her before she even had her own face?"

Brennan wanted to reach out and comfort Booth, but with everyone around she had to settle with the facts, "I recognized the underlying architecture of her features, the rest is just window dressing."

Zach talks to Brennan and asks, "I'm not an expert but, shouldn't he be happier?"

Booth answers for Brennan, "Oh no, believe me, I'm happy."

Hodgins tries to explain it to Zach a little bit more, "He's not happy because Senator Bethlehem chairs the Senate Committee overseeing the FBI."

Angela states, "You seem happy to me."

Booth looks at all three squints and says seriously, "I need this kept quiet."

Hodgins looked like a kid in a candy store, "Ha! Cover up!"

Booth did not want to deal with this right now, so he started walking away with Brennan right behind him. He yelled back though, "Paranoid conspiracy theory."

Hodgins yelled back, "Is it paranoia that Monica Lewinsky was a KGB trained sex agent mole?"

Brennan runs up to walk in p ace with her husband, "So what do you do first, confront the Senator?"

Booth sighs. His wife was not going to like what he was going to say. "Listen, Bones, I know…"

Brennan interrupts him, "Booth, don't call me Bones."

Booth smiles lightly and continues, hoping for the best, "I know we talked about you coming out in the field and all…"

Brennan couldn't believe what her husband was saying, "Ugh. You Rat Bastard!" She also slapped his arm for emphasis.

Booth knew she was going to be pissed, and pissed she was. Great. "A case this big and the Director is going to create a special investigation and if I line all my ducks up in a row I could maybe… maybe I can head it up."

Brennan looked at her husband confused, "I don't know what that means but I think I could be a duck. "

Booth could have laughed at that cute face she was making, but opted out on that one since it would probably mean bodily harm for him. "You're not a duck ok! On this one we stick to the book. Cops on the street, squints in the lab."

Brennan heard him say "on this one" but she didn't care. She was not going to back down now. "Well in that case, the Jeffersonian will be issuing a press release identifying the girl in the pond."

Booth knew what she was playing at and he didn't like it. "You do that, I'm a dead duck. What are you trying to do?"

Brennan smirked, "Blackmail you."

Booth was half proud and half mad at what his wife was doing, "Blackmail a Federal Agent?"

Brennan's smirk turned into a full on smile, "Yes."

Booth looked directly into his wife's eyes and couldn't help the smirk that came across his face, "I don't like it."

Brennan's smiled into a more seductive one, "I'm fairly certain you're not supposed to."

Booth sighed, "Fine. You're in. Just remember babe, you are so going to pay for this later."

Brennan wanted to grab onto his arm and rest her head against his shoulder, but settled for, "I'm looking forward to that."

~BONES~

After talking with Cullen about the most recent findings, the duo was now driving to Cleo's parents' place. Brennan was now telling Booth what the newest findings were, "Hodgins identified the particulates embedded in Cleo Eller's skull as rolled steel most likely from a sledge typed hammer also there's concrete and diatomaceous earth."

Booth looked at the bottle briefly and asked, "What's that?" While taking it from his wife.

Brennan explained, "Looks like that. It's made up of prehistoric sea creatures, it's used as an insecticide, filtering agent, cleaning abrasive, ceramics… It's very common."

Booth smiled, happy to be working with his wife again. "Diatomaceous earth. Common or not, it's a clue."

~BONES~

After talking with the Eller's the team starts to walk back to the SUV. Brennan however was thinking about what Booth said. "Those people deserved the truth."

Booth knows that his wife's policy is to tell them the facts no matter what, but… "Babe, their daughter was murdered. They deserve the kindness of a lie."

Brennan tried to reason with him though, "There'll be an inquest report."

Booth looked at her and smiled softly, "Which they won't read because they don't want to, especially because toward the end, Cleo and her parents weren't even speaking."

Brennan looked at him in disbelief again at how he got this information, "They told you that?"

Booth almost forgot where they were, for he was about to come up to her and swipe the piece of hair out of her face. Thankfully he caught himself and just said, "You know, getting information out of live people is a lot different than getting information out of a pile of bones. You have to offer up something of yourself first."

Brennan – ever fascinated with her husband's past – says, "What exactly did you do in the military? What did they teach you?"

Booth chuckles, "See? See what you did right there Bones? You asked a personal question without offering anything personal in return and since I'm not a skeleton, you gotta offer up something first babe."

Without even thinking about it Brennan steps up to Booth and gently straightens his tie, "I am one of the luckiest women on this planet because I am married to a wonderfully kind gentleman."

Booth smiles lovingly down at his wife, "Oh really, would I happen to know this wonderfully kind gentleman?"

Brennan smiled sweetly at him and patted his chest lightly, "I expect an answer to my question Booth. Tonight. In bed."

Booth barked out a laugh shaking his head slightly. His wife was going to be the death of him. And thank god for that.

~BONES~

After having his ass handed to him on a plate by his boss, both Booth and Brennan left his office together and Booth immediately asked his wife, "You okay?"

Brennan couldn't believe what she just did. "Don't be nice to me after I got you in trouble."

Booth smiled warmly at her. Yeah he was mad, but it wasn't the end of the world. "Your heart was in the right place."

Brennan shook her head, still kicking herself – of course figuratively – for what just happened. "No, I'm not a heart person, you're a heart person, I'm a brain person. You vouched for me."

He really didn't want to talk with his wife right outside his boss' office. "Forget it…"

Brennan couldn't let Booth do something like that and not try and help him in return. "No, I won't. You think it was the Senator?"

Booth sighed knowing she wasn't going to give this one up. "Look, the Senator has had sex with a dozen of these interns and he hasn't killed any of them, our best bet is still the stalker."

Brennan smiled. She had her Booth back. "You want to check him out, we can, I don't, what do you call it, roost him?"

Booth smirked at her attempt at the phrase. "It's 'rouse' babe."

Brennan smiled at his whispered 'babe'. "Fine rouse. Well the murderer snatched a Bronze Star from Cleo's neck so."

Booth couldn't believe that his wife was now his support system to continue with this case. God, he loved her. "I've got twelve hours before this case is over and I'm off it so, let's go rouse."

~BONES~

Booth had been listening to everything the squints had been saying since he got there. But when Hodgins said, "Sound like any conniving, son-of-bitch senators you know?" he couldn't let that go by without them knowing the repercussions. "You expect me to declare war on a United States Senator based on your little holographic crystal ball."

Brennan didn't like that her husband doubted their logic. He never did that before. "It's not magic. It's a logical recreation of events based on evidence."

Booth didn't see the hurt in her eyes when he said, "No more valid than my gut."

Zach stated the fact, "A good hypothesis withstands testing that's what makes it a good hypothesis."

Booth – who couldn't stand this squint in particular – said without thinking, "It's not a hypothesis, you have a dead girl and a United States Senator. This is exactly why squints belong in the lab, you guys don't know anything about the real world." Once he said it though, he regretted it.

Brennan couldn't believe her ears. Glaring at Booth she said, "Come on, we're done here."

Seeing that he wasn't alone, kept up the charade, "Wow. Touchy."

Angela turned off the Angelator and said, "You must know about her family. Both parents vanish when she's fifteen? Probably counts as the real world."

Booth was already trying to figure out a way to tell his wife he was sorry, "Yeah. I know the story, read the file, cops never found out anything."

Angela tried to help Booth see what more was there. "Yeah, Brennan figures that if maybe somebody like her had been there…"

However Booth couldn't help to say this, "For someone who hates psychology, she sure has a lot of it."

~BONES~

Booth knew exactly where to find her. She always had an odd fascination with guns. "Thought I'd find you here. You know, you being a good shot and doing martial arts, it's all your way of dealing. Who knows better than you how fragile life can be?"

Brennan couldn't help but jab at him. She was, after all, still mad at her husband, "Maybe an Army Ranger sniper who became an FBI homicide investigator?"

Booth smirked, "Ah, you looked me up, huh?" He steps forward and places his hand on the small of her back, "I'm sorry Bones. I wasn't thinking when I said those things. I know how much you've been through." He looked down at the gun and asked, "Do you mind?"

Brennan's heart melted a little at Booth's words. "Be my guest."

Booth brought his hand to her hip and squeezed it gently, "Thank You." Booth picks up the gun and purposely misses.

Brennan, knowing how good of a shot he really is, chuckles and jokes, "Were you any good at being a sniper"

Booth smiles at the fact that this almost argument has now been dissipated. "A sniper gets to know a little something about killers. Senator Bethlehem, he's no killer."

Brennan still didn't know how her husband went with his gut on some things said, "Oh, and Oliver Laurier is?"

Booth backed his wife up against the wall and was mere inches from her face when he said, "The way I read Laurier, he's unhinged. That makes him dangerous." Which was meant both as a warning to her to be careful around Oliver.

Brennan couldn't help but jab one more time, "That'd be your gut telling you that, correct?"

Booth smirked at what she said, "You know, homicides, they're not solved by just scientists. They're solved by guys like me asking a thousand questions a thousand times, catching people telling lies every time. You're great at what you do, Bones, but you don't solve murders alone, cops do as well."

Brennan knew exactly what she needed to say to get her husband off of his butt and do his job. So she challenged him, "Cleo Eller was killed on a cement floor sprinkled with diatomaceous earth. Traces of her blood will still be in that cement. One of us is wrong, maybe both of us. But if Bethlehem wasn't a Senator, you'd be right there in his basement looking for that killing floor. You're afraid of him. Your hypothesis is that squints don't solve murders and cops do, prove it. Be a cop." Smirking, she patted his chest and sashayed away from him. Booth grabs his gun and fires two quick perfect kill shots. He hated it when his wife made so much sense sometimes.

~BONES~

Booth had gone back to his office. Brennan now stood at the door knocking on it and stepping in clearing her throat. Without looking up Booth states, "They look pretty happy, don't they. Otherwise they wouldn't turn on the camera I guess."

Brennan can see the pain in Booth's eyes and gets right to the point, "Zach said you wanted to see me?" Booth hands Brennan a piece of paper. Brennan opens it and looks at it. "You got a warrant to search Bethlehem's place?"

Booth sighs heavily. This case was getting to him and he didn't like it one bit. "You were right. If Bethlehem wasn't a Senator, I'd be in that basement, looking for that killing floor. But you're wrong, I was never afraid of that guy and I'm not doing this because you're a genius babe, I'm doing this for Cleo. You ready partner?"

Brennan looked at him with her lopsided smile, "Since when are we partners?"

Booth smirks at his wife, "I apologize for the assumption."

~BONES~

Brennan calls out to Booth as he walks up to her, "At least we got the hammer."

Booth is upset. It isn't enough. "Yeah but that's all we got Bones."

Brennan doesn't believe it. What about the floor? "The cement floor in the basement?"

Booth shakes his head. "Yeah, no blood or diatomaceous earth. We needed a trifecta Bones. Physical evidence, murder weapon, crime scene. Come on let's go home. I'll hand over the case to Cullen tomorrow and this will all be over with."

Brennan looks at her husband. She thinks to herself, He needs to get this guy. So instead of doing what she's wanted to do ever since this morning, she shakes her head, "No, you go on. I still have some things I need to take care of at the lab."

~BONES~

Zach couldn't believe it, "They won't even arrest him?"

Hodgins was confident though that justice would prevail, "Don't worry, if that's the hammer used on Cleo Eller, he'll get arrested. A toast to getting this bastard."

Brennan just shook her head. "The hammer's not enough. He's gonna get away with it. And maybe Booth is right, maybe outside the lab I'm useless."

Hodgins holds up the little saint book and says cheerfully, "Let's take guidance from the lives of the Saints."

Angela reads who the saint is, "Albertus Magnus, Patron Saint of Scientists."

Zach ponders that and thinks about what he knows about saints, "I thought Magnus was the Patron Saint of fish mongers?"

Hodgins expounds on his friends knowledge. "Two separate entities. Albertus Magnus was a 13th century philosopher, the fish monger saint was a …"

However Brennan starts thinking of what Zach just said and something clicks. She yells, "Fish!" All three of the squints look at Brennan like she's gone mad. Brennan continues, "You said that diatomaceous earth could be used as a filtering agent."

Hodgins nods slowly, "Yeah, for swimming pools, water filters…"

Brennan let's them in on her thought process, "Or tropical fish. Oliver Laurier said that Ken Thompson kept fish." Brennan jumps up and starts to run out of the lab.

Angela – still not fully grasping the big deal – asks, "What's your hurry?"

Brennan turns back to them and explains, "Thompson read the warrant. He knows we're looking for diatomaceous earth. Get in touch with Booth; tell him where I'm going, okay?" Then Brennan starts to run to get to her car.

Angela turns to Hodgins and says, "She didn't actually say where she was going, did she?"

~BONES~

After yet again a very long night of no sleep, due to the fact that Brennan had to give her statement and had been arrested by her own husband (!) she stood in front of the funeral for Cleo with the rest of her team.

Angela asks quietly, "Is the FBI going to lay charges against Brennan?"

Hodgins looks at Booth and states, "She only shot him in the leg. Once."

Booth hated that he had to arrest his wife. He was actually real proud of how his wife figured everything out. She caught the killer. He tried to explain, "She didn't give him a warning. She just shot him, with alcohol on her breath." Brennan starts to walk away from the funeral at that.

Goodman tries to reason with Booth, "It was her first shooting, you can't expect it to be perfect right out of the gate."

Zach – without yet again any forethought of how his words affected people – says, "How much warning did you give people before you sniped them?"

Booth gives Zach his best glare and then jogs to catch up with his wife. Brennan looks up at Booth to see a smug smile on his face. She can't help but laugh a little and ask, "What?"

Booth looks down at her still smiling, "Told you it wasn't the Senator."

Brennan just smiles and shakes her head. "And I told you who it was, so we're even."

Booth brings up the fact of something he saw about his wife that morning. "Except we work on the same cases and you end up on the New York Times Best Sellers list."

Brennan is shocked to hear that, "I didn't know that!"

Booth smiles proudly at her, "Number Three, with a bullet."

Brennan smiles brightly at him. "That's good, right? The New York Times with a bullet…"

Booth slightly pushes her with his shoulder. "It means you're rich, call your accountant."

Brennan just laughs at that, "You know I don't have an accountant."

Booth smiles at her again, "Well, we should get one then." He then winks at her.

Brennan looks up at him expectantly, "Okay, how does that work?"

He just rolls his eyes heavenward. "Ugh, you need to get out of the lab. You know: watch TV, turn on the radio, anything! Pick up the phone and…" However he opted out of finishing that sentence and turns around to watch the Eller's say goodbye to their daughter. With pride in his voice Booth tells his wife, "You know, if it weren't for you, those people would never have known what happened to their daughter. That's got to be worse than the truth."

Brennan smiles sadly, "I know exactly how the Eller's felt about Cleo. With my parents disappearance and nobody knowing what exactly happened to them." Booth discreetly squeezes her hand reassuringly.

Booth smiles at her warmly and says, "I know babe." Then taking in a deep breath he says, "You know, being a sniper I took, a lot of lives. What I'd like to do before I'm done is try and catch at least that many murderers."

Brennan smiles up at her husband and squeezes his hand right back, "I'd like to help you with that."

Booth smirks at his wife and shrugs his shoulders like he could care less, "Ehhhh…" Brennan just laughs and smacks his arms lightly. Booth really wants to show his gratitude for everything Brennan did for him these past few days. So he whispers in her ear, "Come let's go home. I still have to answer that question of yours." Brennan's eyes beam brilliantly at the idea of what was to come.

So begins their wonderfully, secretive, chaotic life together as partners.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – The Man in the S.U.V.**

Booth sees his wife in an instant within the chaotic scene around him, "Bones! Bones! Over here."

Brennan would never admit it, but she had been worried something had happened to her husband since the last time that they talked with each other. "Where have you been? You said you would meet us on the corner."

Booth places his hand on the small of her back and guides her to the scene while saying reassuringly, "There is a lot going on here in case you haven't noticed." As they approach the security Booth tells the man, "These girls they're with me Dr. Temperance Brennan and Angela Montenegro from the Jeffersonian."

The security guard still doesn't let them go, "I need ID."

Booth sighs and points at the papers in the man's hands, "Okay, check the RI5 list, homeland security. She's the forensic anthropologist."

The security guard looks through the list and sees their names, "They're clear."

Booth nods his head and again guides his wife and her best friend onto the scene, "Thanks. C'mon."

Angela picks up on an awful smell in the air, "God, what's that smell?"

Brennan – having dealt with this numerous times – says technically, "Burnt flesh. Are there a lot of injuries?"

Booth rattles off the list sadly, "Four known dead. Fifteen injured."

Angela can't stand the scene in front of her with all the bodies and the smells, "Oh my God."

Brennan begins to compartmentalize everything to keep focus, "Details, whatever you have."

Booth doesn't like this. "Not much. Witnesses said they saw a Middle Eastern man mid thirties pull up to the café and the car just blew. The vehicle is registered to a Hamid Masruk, head of the American-Arab friendship league."

Brennan is confused to why she's here now, since her husband already knows who the person is. "If you know who it is, why do you need me?"

Agent Gibson walks up to the group and answers that question, "Because we're hoping we're wrong. Masruk is a White House consultant for Arab relations. Had lunch with the President just last week."

Booth smiles at his wife's first encounter with this agent. "Remember Agent Gibson, Homeland Security." He then points to his wife and Angela for the agent. "Dr. Temperance Brennan. Angela Montenegro. If Masruk was involved in a terrorist attack it means we have a huge national security problem.

Agent Gibson is irritated, "Not to mention a very humiliated president. The press is already running with this."

Brennan always finds the facts, not what people want the facts to be. "If you think I'm going to alter my findings…"

Gibson shakes his head, "Look, not at all but maybe it's not Masruk. We need to be sure. Booth says you're the best."

Brennan smiles at her husband intimately and says, "I need surgical gloves and masks for the retrieval team. Sterile medical bags and vegetable oil."

Booth knows why she needs the first part but… "Vegetable oil?"

Brennan nods and tries to explain, "The oil will loosen the seared body parts stuck to the metal. It's no different than steak on a grill that sticks."

He smiles at Brennan and her trying to put her thoughts in "English". "It's okay, I trust you."

Zach comes over to the group with her requested item and asks, "Should I photograph the scene?"

Brennan nods distractedly looking around at the scene, "Focus on a 30 meter radius from the blast."

Brennan points to a limb and asks her husband, "Okay to pick up?"

Booth nods his head, but he wants to make sure she's okay first. "You know, it's okay to be upset."

Brennan smiles sorrowfully, "I wish this is the worst thing I'd seen."

Booth discretely whispers in her ear while rubbing her elbow comfortingly, "I know."

Angela – unaware of what was going on between Booth and Brennan – hands over the retrieval bags to Booth and confesses, "You know…uh… I don't think I can…Sorry."

Brennan can see the uneasiness in Booth's eyes, "Well, if you can't either…"

Booth quickly shakes off the uneasiness and tries to use his sniper training, "No, I'm cool."

Brennan smiles softly at her husband one last time before they begin what would for sure be one hellish of a case. "Zach, I need two more evidence bags."

~BONES~

Brennan was in the lab with the remains and evidence found on the scene, giving out orders, "Take samples from the clothes. See whatever you can find. Traces of cologne, laundry detergent, anything that we can link to Masruk's home."

Hodgins comes up and says, "I will grab any particulates that I can identify the type of bomb."

Zach is confused now, "Isn't that the FBI's job?"

Hodgins – ever the conspiratorial theorist – says, "What you trust the FBI? You realize those guys are going to suppress whatever they need to cover their asses."

Zach ignores Hodgins ridiculous theories and says, "I found a portion of the clavicle."

Hodgins looks offended, "Are you even listening?"

Zach simply tells him the truth. "No."

Still Hodgins continues on with his ramblings, "They have a separate division you know that way their hands are always clean. In 1970…"

Brennan doesn't like the way that Hodgins is talking about the FBI, especially since her man is one himself – however irrational that sounds. "Jack! We're trying to work."

Booth comes up to the platform to see his wife agitated at Hodgins and wonders why. That is until he hears Hodgins say, "Someone seems really defensive about the FBI lately. You realize Booth is just another Government stooge."

Brennan looks directly at Booth while saying, "This has nothing to do with Booth." Even though her eyes are saying a completely different story.

Booth uses the element of surprise says, "You know I don't enjoy having squints on my team anymore then you like me on yours but you know we're supposed to be working together. Okay?"

Hodgins slightly jumps that almost goes unnoticed and says to play it off, "Sure. So what do we do, group hug?"

Booth ignores that and motions to Agent Gibson. "Agent Gibson here will be over seeing things for Homeland Security."

Gibson tries to offer a peace offering of some sorts. "I'll try not to be in the way."

Brennan doesn't want to work with anyone else but her husband. She does not like this one bit. "No, uh …we don't need to be overseen."

Booth sighs inwardly and says, "That's really not your call Bones. Okay how soon can we get the DNA match?"

Brennan sees that she lost this battle starts right into the facts, "That'll take days. I can get a match much sooner then that I have all we need."

Gibson asks in disbelief, "You're going to be able to ID him from that?"

Zach points out the obvious idiotic question, "Asking stuff like that is in the way."

Brennan beings to walk away from the group saying, "Remove any flesh and particulates you can and then macerate him." She turns toward Gibson, "If that's alright with you?" Booth follows his wife to go into her office.

As they are walking Brennan states her aggravation, "This is my lab. I'm a scientist. A doctor."

Booth chuckles and looks around to make sure that they're alone and not being watched. He then brings his hand to her hip and caresses it softly, "Yeah, so I've heard."

Brennan leans into Booth a little more and says, "Look, would you be able to do your job if someone is looking over your shoulder all the time."

Booth tries to reason with his somewhat stubborn wife, "You do, okay I've developed a tolerance."

Brennan smirks at what her husband just said. "I'm sorry but I don't understand the advantage of compromise."

Booth is trying to keep his temper in check, "It's a terrorist attack babe. It's bigger than you and it's bigger than me."

Brennan again tries to point out the facts though. "The job is the same."

Booth sighs. She just doesn't get it. "No, it's not. We're dealing with someone here who devalues an entire culture. Terrorizing people by using God to justify mass murder."

Brennan looks directly into her husband's eyes and sees the pain. "You're making it personal. That doesn't help."

Booth stares straight back into hers trying to explain how he feels. "It is personal Brennan. All of us die a little bit on one like this."

~BONES~

Angela walks into Brennan's office, stopping at the door. Noticing all the pictures from the case scattered on the floor she says, "Hard at work? There's a shocker."

Brennan sighs. She has just come from talking with the victims wife. "I just saw his wife. She gave me his medical records…photographs. Apparently he was ill. They were testing for Lupus which would explain the face. It must have been painful."

Angela comes over to Brennan and stands by the couch. "Look I … I know that you needed help out there. At the crime scene and I wanted to but…"

Brennan stands up and sits down on the couch. "It's okay. You see it. I don't anymore. I don't know what's worse."

Angela joins Brennan on the couch and asks, genuinely concerned, "You holding up okay?"

Brennan nods slightly – thinking of how her husband has been a great support system for her. "His wife doesn't believe it was him. I've got to give her an ID."

Angela places her hand on top of Brennan's. "Whatever I can do."

Brennan nods and gratefully smiles at her. "Yeah, I know."

Angela goes on to a different topic now. "And about this weekend…"

Brennan sighs yet again. She really hates lying to her best friend. "Angela I don't know."

Angela just won't give up on this. "Oh come on."

Brennan shakes her head this time. "I don't know."

Angela then tries to persuade her friend with the facts. "Brennan I know this great club, they play Trip Hop and Trance."

Brennan scrunches her face a little. "I don't know what that means."

Angela waves her hand dismissively and says with a smile, "It doesn't matter. We'll grab Booth."

Brennan adamantly states – maybe a little too fast – "No."

Angela smiles at her friend's fast response. There was something there for sure. "I think he likes you. God if I were you, I'd buy a ticket on that ride."

Brennan tries to get herself out of this one again by pointing to a box full of bones. "Look, I'm going to be very busy this weekend even after the ID, I have these."

Angela looks unimpressed. "Remains from World War I."

Brennan explains rationally, "That's what the institution pays me for. I've got hundreds of these waiting."

Angela sighs dramatically at her friend's antics. "And they can't wait one more weekend?"

Brennan won't give in. "They've got relatives. They've waited long enough."

Angela smiles sadly at Brennan thinking that she needs to get out more and find a man. "You know it's not that scary Brennan. You have a few drinks. You move to the music. You might even smile."

~BONES~

Brennan unlocks the door to their apartment to find Booth walking out of their bedroom buttoning up his shirt. She pouts slightly at this – she really wanted to spend just a little time with her husband today.

Booth looks up at the sound of the door opening to find his wife pouting. "Hey babe. What's wrong?" When she doesn't respond he asks, "Bones?"

Brennan snaps out of her little day dream she was having and says, "Yeah."

Booth smiles at his wife's face. He knew that face. "What's up?"

Brennan can see that there really was no time for a little fun now any ways, hands over the file right away, "It's him. Masruk is the bomber."

Booth sighs as he finishes buttoning his shirt. "I guess the wife didn't know the husband very well."

Brennan hears the sound of heels tapping on the floor and has an irrational spurt of anger and jealousy – even though she knows her husband would never cheat on her. However once Tessa enters the room her jealousy is put at bay. "Hello Tessa, how are you?"

Tessa smiles warmly at her friend. "I'm fine, thank you Temperance. Actually Seeley called me up asking for a favor that I owe him." Brennan looks at her husband in confusion until he clarifies.

"Babe, the thing is, I think that your squints are really trying to push us together, especially Angela. So I thought, maybe if they thought I had a girlfriend they would lay off just a little. You know. And also this way it'll help us with our secret. I mean after the way Cullen made sure I knew during our first case, that I couldn't even work with you if we were seeing each other before it, this way it looks more like we're not. Right?" Booth hoped he just made sense right now. Because his head was actually starting to hurt from that explanation.

Brennan thought that over for a few seconds and then nodded her head in agreement. "That is an excellent idea Booth. This will definitely make the others think that there is no possible way for us to be together since you are in a "committed" relationship." Brennan came up to her husband and kissed him on his lips softly.

Booth smiled broadly. "Well okay then." Pretending to introduce them to each other. "Tessa, this is Brennan. Tessa Jankow, Dr. Temperance Brennan. "

Tessa smiled and rolled her eyes at her two friends. What they did for love. "Oh, hi. I've heard a lot about you."

Brennan looked at the two of them confused. "What are you doing?"

Booth smiled warmly, "We're getting into character. You know, acting.

Brennan still confused started to say, "But we're the only ones here…" Then upon seeing her husband's face says, "Oh, we're practicing. I get."

Booth nods and continues with the "introductions". "Tessa's an attorney."

Tessa grins at that, "Mm, corporate, keeping the fat cats fat."

Brennan being her regular literal self says, "I was just studying a cranial fissure on a corporate attorney last week. Of course he was dead so…"

Tessa nods her head. "Interesting."

Brennan smiles lightly, "Thanks."

Booth shakes his head at his wife and guides her toward the door. "Well I was just heading to the Bureau. Santana called and said something about a bombing and I thought you were at the lab. I was gonna go pick you up but since you're here. Let's head on out."

Brennan nods her head. "Sure."

Booth turns to Tessa and says, "Thanks for doing this for us. Make yourself at home, we'll see you later."

Tessa smiles and waves goodbye to her favorite couple. Man, she wishes that her and her boyfriend would turn out like them – that is love-wise. Tessa chuckles softly at that thought.

~BONES~

As the couple walks into Booth's office he notices to his wife is chuckling. "Okay, what is so funny?"

Brennan keeps on chuckling, "I just never figured you'd actually be the one to suggest one of us pretending to be in a relationship."

Booth looks back at her as he sits down at his desk. "Why, do you think something's wrong with me?"

Brennan smiles softly at him, "Not wrong. You just have alpha male attributes usually associated with claiming ownership of your property."

Booth is shocked for two reasons. One, his wife just called herself property and two, she sounded proud of that fact. "Temperance Brennan-Booth, are you happy to have an alpha male as your husband?"

Brennan smirks at her husband, "Maybe I am but we weren't talking about me."

Booth smile widens. "Well I was and I could just kiss you right now."

Brennan's smirk turns seductive, "Well I wasn't and I would love to do more than just kiss you right now. I would love to…" She then licks her lips seductively.

Booth groans loudly feeling himself already reacting to his wife's words, "Bones, you are going to be the death of me my beautiful wi…"

However Booth was abruptly interrupted by Santana coming into his office. "Booth."

Booth slides in a little bit more under his desk. He tries to keep an even voice when he answers, "Yeah?"

Santana goes on without noticing the slight tension in the room, "You got that ID?"

Booth nods and is thankful – for once – of the images of the mornings scenes. "Yeah it was Masruk."

Santana sighs, "Oh, that's too bad."

Brennan looks back at Santana confused. "He killed four people and injured another fifteen."

Santana hands a file to Booth across from his desk, "The report came back from ballistics. Now the explosives were placed under the car with the trigger connected to the odometer. Masruk was murdered."

Brennan gladly takes the offered folder from Booth and looks down at the newest findings. "So Masruk wasn't a terrorist."

Booth couldn't believe it. "Somebody tried to make him look like one. Any leads on who did it?"

Santana's smirk told Booth he wasn't going to like what he was about to say, "That's why we're paying you Booth."

~BONES~

After interrogating the victim's wife again the couple walks into Wong Foo's for something to eat. Booth almost yells at his wife as they sit down at the bar, "She was having an affair!"

Brennan takes the seat beside him and says, "I'm sorry but that's an offensive assumption!"

Booth sighs. "Well all the signs are there."

Brennan still doesn't know how her husband can do is job like this. "You can't make wild accusations about somebody's personal life based on a feeling."

Booth tries to reason with the woman beside him. "It's more than a feeling. Okay, that photograph is evidence just as solid as the markers you squints pick up looking at your little bones."

Brennan still doesn't get it. "The evidence that I find isn't empirical. What you consider evidence is merely conjecture."

Booth points out the evidence for his idea. "She dyed her hair. She lost weight. You know she shoved a little Botox in her forehead. She's still feeling guilty over the last fight she had with her husband."

Brennan makes a sound of frustration. "Ugh! You are an insufferable…arrogant….man!"

Booth smirks at his wife's response. "Oh! So only a woman could know a woman. I thought woman wanted us to understand them."

Angela comes up behind the two and sits on the other side of Booth. "Not really. A magician never wants to reveal her tricks…"

Booth looks at Angela, surprised to see her here. "We're having a private conversation."

Angela holds up her hands, "I'm not here."

Brennan seeing an opportunity to bring up Tessa in front of their biggest obstacle says, "So you think you know women just because you live with some sexy lawyer? Unbelievable."

Booth at first doesn't know what she's talking about, but then remembers that Angela was listening. So he decides to put on a show and scoffs at his wife.

Angela jumps in at that. "You live with a sexy lawyer?"

Booth clarifies slightly of what he talked about with Tessa, "She has her own place okay."

Brennan then brings up why she "decided" to bring that point up about Booth. "He thinks just because Masruk's wife started working out and had a little make over, that she was having an affair."

Angela ponders that thought, "Hmm, and how long were they married?"

Booth smirks at what he knows the artist will say, "Eleven years."

Angela looks at Brennan and directs with finger to Booth. "I'm with him."

Brennan can't believe that her friend thinks that the wife was cheating as well. "There is no concrete proof!"

Angela asks the obvious, "Boobs perkier?"

Booth simply replies from his observations, "Mm Hmm."

Brennan can't fathom this. "I don't believe this if you're so sure then why didn't you confront her."

Angela tries to explain it to her friend. "Because if she or her boyfriend were involved, she would warn him."

Booth smiles at Angela, "Very good."

Angela smirks at Booth and replies, "I'm a constant surprise."

Brennan – having enough of the conjectures – gets up from the bar. "Alright. Great. I will be in the lab getting us some real data."

Booth just sighs as Angela asks more about his 'girlfriend'. "So, how many nights a week does "sexy" sleep over?"

Booth shakes his head. "Ha, ha, ha."

~BONES~

At the lab, Angela can't help but gossip about the newest news. "Apparently, they live together a few days a week, but he was very clear that she has her own place."

Zach doesn't feel good about this newest subject of conversation. "Should you be intruding into their lives like this?"

Angela reassures him, "Oh yeah. Absolutely."

Hodgins isn't really paying much attention to this conversation. "We're negative for Lupus and Paget's. When you're done, I will do a scraping for environmental contaminates."

Zach hands a Petri dish of particulate to Hodgins. "I found these. Shiny flakes that caught onto the torn patches of bone."

Angela goes on like nothing is interrupting her. "Bottom line, I still think Brennan has a shot with Booth."

Hodgins can't help but point out. "But she says she's not interested."

Angela smirks and says almost sing-songy, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

Zach definitely doesn't like this. "Maybe she protested just enough."

Angela rolls her eyes. "Puh-lease. She's been sleeping alone for months." Then under her breath – remembering that one moment on the phone – says, "That we know of." And then more audible, "She has enough pent up sexual energy to power a small mid-western city."

Hodgins is looking at the particulates and says, "This looks like gypsum. That wouldn't cause any organic damage. It's probably used to insulate the explosives, bet the FBI doesn't know that yet."

Angela finally coming to her own conclusion says, "I'm gonna go check out this girlfriend."

~BONES~

Booth can't believe his lead suspect just got away like that. He honks his horn rather angrily. "C'mon!"

Brennan asks calmly, "You want me to drive? "

Booth looks at his wife like she's crazy. "No. Why?"

Brennan points at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're angry."

Booth laughs at that idea. "I'm not angry."

Brennan just shakes her head. "Yeah, you're furious. You're going to kill somebody."

Booth breaths out of his nose slowly. "I'm not angry. Believe me, you do not want to see me angry. That's the last thing you want to see."

Brennan just rolls her eyes, knowing her husband was angry. "Okay."

Booth explains slowly and more calmly, "This is me accepting reality."

Brennan shrugs her shoulders, letting the subject go. "Okay, my mistake."

Booth tries to explain even more so. "My superiors, they make the decisions, Bones. Alright. If they don't think them through that's really not my problem."

Brennan tries to reason with him. "If I were you, I'd be mad. Homeland Security is preventing you from doing a proper investigation of a murder case."

Booth sighs audibly, "I'm a grownup. I'll deal. You know that thing where you ask for the strength to change the things that you can and the wisdom to know the difference?"

Brennan looks at him with a blank stare, "Not really."

Booth looks back at the road and says, "Well it's a good thing."

Brennan tries to clarify, "Do you ask God?"

Booth looks at her for a brief second, "For what?"

Brennan expounds, "For the strength and the wisdom?"

Booth smiles a little at his wife's understanding, "Yeah, I ask God."

Brennan nods slightly at her husband. "I still don't understand how you can believe in God."

Booth sighs heavily, "Can we talk about something else?"

Brennan smiles brightly, "Sure. I bought a little something that I think you will definitely like." She then brings her hand to his thigh and squeezes gently in a very seductive way that has Booth already dying to get home to see it.

Booth raises his eyebrow. "Oh really." He can feel himself reacting all over again at the images his mind is conjuring. He smirks a little until his wife brings her hand all the way up his thigh and presses her hand against his slight arousal which brings it to a full on hard on. He swerves into the next lane surprised and hears several cars honking at him. "Christ, Bones!"

Brennan looks at him innocently. "What? I'm sorry. I thought that you would like to get some of your tension out of your system."

Booth gripped the steering wheel tightly until his knuckles turned white. "I prefer if we, right now – while I'm driving – would just stay on point and talk about things that you like to talk about like dead people. Dead bodies?"

Brennan smiles even more seductively at her husband, "But I don't want to talk about dead bodies. I want to pleasure my husband."

With that, Booth swerved the SUV into a deserted parking lot in a secluded area. Without any warning Booth jumped out of the door and swung open his wife's door. With as much pent up passion and frustration he had, he focused it into his kiss. Before he knew it his wife had her legs wrapped around his waist and he was pushing his arousal against her causing her to moan loudly in his mouth. Booth swung open the back door to his SUV and laid his wife on the back seat.

Brennan had already undone Booth's belt buckle and his zipper was undone. In between rough kisses Brennan hoarsely said, "Booth…I…need…you…in…me." Without need for further invitation Booth hiked up his wife's skirt and had wildly, hot, tension-relieving sex in the back of his SUV. After several minutes of regaining their breath, Brennan brought up her hand and ran it through her husband's hair and said softly and reassuringly, "We'll find out who killed him, Booth. We've got Hamid's body. You can always count on the dead."

~BONES~

Angela joined the group on the platform after talking with a rather sexy lawyer. "There is trouble in paradise."

Brennan looked at Angela, "I beg your pardon?"

Angela looked directly into Brennan's eyes. She saw that there was something different about her. A certain after the glow sex-vide was coming off of her. "Tessa does not feel secure in that relationship. I think she's threatened by you."

Brennan looked at her in shock, "You talked to her."

Angela explained her theory, "She didn't say much but even though she has a phenomenal figure she was chowing down on a fat-free muffin and she was reading a book about unsolved FBI cases. Ugh, she's obviously feeling insecure."

Hodgins didn't believe this. He turned to Brennan, "She's spying for you?"

Brennan couldn't believe the mess she was now in. "No! No!"

Zach brought his own thoughts into the mix. "Even if you have nothing in common it's difficult to sublimate intense sexual attraction and we hear it's been awhile."

Brennan definitely couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, Stop!"

Angela tried to reason with her friend. "He is there for the taking, honey."

Booth walked up to the group and began to say, "Okay, I couldn't get his medical records." He then noticed everyone was looking at him weirdly, "What?"

Brennan giving him a very distinct look said, "Oh nothing."

~BONES~

Later is the day Brennan came up to Angela and said, "We're going to have to run a simulation. I need you to input this skull and give me a face."

Angela nodded her head and said, "You've got it."

Brennan stopped Angela before she could go into her office. "And no more talk about Booth. You shouldn't have gotten involved."

Angela smiled at her. "That's what friends are for."

Brennan gave her a pleading look and hoped it would work. "Please, Angela."

~BONES~

After finding out the date of exposure, the couple decided to pay a little visit to Mr. Ladjavardi. As Booth and Brennan got out of the SUV, Booth took off his tie. Brennan asked her husband, "I thought you were told to stay away from him?"

Booth smiled smugly at his wife. "Yeah and as an FBI agent I cannot disobey my superior but you're not an FBI agent."

Brennan finally saw where her husband was going with this and smiled brightly that she could finally get in on some of the action. "Hey! Hi! How ya doing?"

Ladjavardi turned around and was pissed off to see who was talking to him. "What the hell are you doing here? You had orders."

Brennan pointed to herself and smiled slightly. "No. Not me. I just have a couple of quick questions for you."

Ladjavardi sighed, "Look, I'm not involved in this. Sahar won't even talk to me anymore."

Brennan looked back at Booth and smirked, "Yeah, I wonder why?"

Ladjavardi pulled out his cell phone and stated annoyingly, "I'm calling Santana."

Brennan looked at him and just stated, "Yeah, I don't think so."

Ladjavardi looked at Brennan unfazed, "I'm warning you."

Booth interjected for at least some warning, "I wouldn't threaten her if I were you."

Brennan tried to reason with the man. "Look, I just want to know where you were in June, first week, to see if you poisoned Hamid and Farid."

Booth looked at his wife and whispered, "Subtle, babe."

Ladjavardi looked between the two partners and makes up his mind. "I'm leaving, that's it." He tries to push Brennan out of his way but she swings her arm around and grabs his arm. Using her martial arts training, she flips him over one the sidewalk onto his back flat on the cement. To keep him from moving she puts her foot on his throat.

Booth looks down at Ladjavardi and says, "Told ya. She doesn't like to be touched."

Ladjavardi strangles out, "I didn't poison anybody."

Brennan pushes down just a little bit harder to get him to talk. "Then tell me where you were in June."

Ladjavardi knowing what's best for him, hurriedly tells her. "In Utah for training with Homeland Security. I didn't get to DC until August 12th. Check with the department."

Brennan releases her foot, smiles, and nods her head. "Alright, thanks."

~BONES~

In the SUV Booth decides to bounce ideas off his wife. "How about this? Sahar wants out of the marriage. Hamid refuses so Sahar poisons him so that she can run off with Ladjavardi."

Brennan shakes her head. "Doesn't make sense."

Booth points out this fact though, "When someone dies the first suspect is the spouse."

Brennan still doesn't believe it. "Well what about Hamid's brother? Did she poison him too?"

Booth is trying to work out all of these kinks. "Why not? You know he's pushing his nose into the marriage. I mean suddenly Sahar is facing, you know, a devote Muslim and a fundamentalist Christian and you know and nobody allows divorce and she's pushed to murder."

Brennan shakes her head again. "That's eschewed logic."

Booth sighs, not really believing this scenario either. "Ah, C'mon babe. Just work with me here. Alright. It's what we in the law enforcement call positing a scenario. Don't use the word eschewed."

Brennan tries to make a point. "What if you and I were – hypothetically of course – going to break up and you didn't want to?

Booth gave her a sidelong look. "Interesting Bones."

Brennan shrugs her shoulders. "Well I'm positing a scenario. Say I want to break up and you don't want to so I poison you."

Booth just shakes his head. "No, no, no."

Brennan then points out the obvious flaw in this scenario. "And then just to make sure, I blow you up with a bomb."

Booth now was fully looking at her for a good five seconds when he focus' on the road and asks, "Why would you do that?"

Brennan smiles at him, proud to make her point. "Exactly. Thank you."

Booth points this out though. "See 'cause you and me, that's a bad example."

Brennan smiles at him and pats his thigh lightly, "Well we're a couple in love, right?"

Booth sighs. "Yes, but why bring up us as a couple? We're solid. There is no reason to kill each other."

Brennan shrugs nonchalantly. "We were talking about couples. It's a natural segue."

Booth shakes his head at his wife's logic. "Alright, you know, you have to quit using the word segue and eschew. They sound French."

Brennan smirks at him slightly, "You keep changing the subject. I get it. You don't want to admit you're wrong."

Booth just shakes his head and laughs softly. "You keep thinking that babe."

Brennan just patted Booth's leg again when her phone rang. "Brennan." Brennan listened to what Zach was saying and told him to hang on a second when she covered the mouth piece and spoke to her husband, "The bomb was made in Woodley Park."

Booth couldn't believe it! "That's where Farid lives. Hold on." Booth made a fast U-turn. "No wonder we couldn't get his medicals. He already knew what was poisoning him. Alright, just stay in contact with your boys and tell them we're going to need them. Alright, Listen Bren, we're heading into a very unknown situation. I think it's best if you just stay in the car." She just glares at him. "Okay, then. You know, if you have to come in with me you just stay behind me." Same glare is situated on him. "Fine, just be careful, alright."

~BONES~

After finding out the Farid made another bomb and that it was out there, the couple was both on the cell phones trying to pinpoint the location of the bomber. Finally Angela found the location. Brennan looked at her husband and stated, "Peace Conference. Hamilton Cultural Center."

Booth nodded his head, still on his phone. "That's…"

Finishing the sentence for him, Brennan said, "That's it."

Booth's gut was yelling at him this was it. "That's gotta be it." Now talking on his phone he said, "Okay Gibson, just get your boys over to the Hamilton Cultural Center and just keep them back when you get there. You understand me? If you spook this guy he will blow himself up before we can take him out. Fine, bye."

Brennan gives Angela her thanks and hangs up. Booth looks at his wife and says concerned for her life, "You know, you don't have to come."

Brennan just gives him one look, "You have got to be kidding me."

~BONES~

As they made their way up to the top floor Brennan asks her husband, "If you see him will you shoot?"

Booth hates this part of his job so he tries to reason, "Well, he might not have the bomb."

Brennan looks at him sympathetically, "You don't believe that."

Booth really, really hates this part. "I'm not taking out a target Bren unless I'm sure."

Brennan grabs her husband's hand quickly and shortly but gives it a reassuring squeeze. After a failed attempt at first, Brennan is sure she spots Farid. " There! That's Farid."

Booth looks down to where his wife is pointing. His gun is ready to kill, but he really doesn't want to do this. "I'm not sure."

Brennan grabs his upper arm and reasons with him. "Look his walk is labored from the dioxin poisoning and the parietal bones in his skull match his picture."

Booth shakes his head. He knows his wife is the best, but even the best can be wrong sometimes and he doesn't want to risk this. "It's dexterous. What if you're wrong?"

Brennan squeezes his arm and looks straight into his eyes. "This is what I do Booth. Do you really want to wait? He's carrying something heavy in his camera bag, see the extra weight is causing his shoulder to…"

Booth shakes his head, even though his gun is raising a little bit higher by each second. "No, I can't!"

Brennan knows this is hard for him, but she knows this is their man. "He has all the markers, Booth."

Booth looks in her eyes for a brief second. "I need a face." He then looks back, "I need a face."

Brennan finally realizes that what he needs she can give him so she shouts out, "Farid!"

Farid turns around and looks straight up at them. Booth raises his gun and aims, while yelling, "On the ground!"However Farid reaches into his camera bag and starts to pull something out.

Brennan tells her husband almost frantically, "He's going for the bomb."

Booth aims once more and fires his weapon. The built lands itself straight into Farid's skull. A perfect kill shot. Agent Gibson comes over and opens Farid's hand to reveal the detonator and then he looks into the camera bag to reveal the bomb. Gibson looks up at Booth and nods his head, telling him they got the right guy.

~BONES~

After this long case the couple wound up at Wong Foo's again. Booth informs his wife of his news, "You know I told them to tell the press is was an undercover operation."

Brennan looked shocked at this. "But it would be a rose garden ceremony. That's an honor, right? I thought all of you FBI guys loved your medals?"

Booth looks down at his drink in front of him and shakes his head. "There's no pleasure in taking someone's life, babe. Nothing to celebrate."

Brennan smiles sadly at him. She reaches out and grabs his forearm and squeezes it gently. "You saved so many people, Booth. Don't forget that."

Booth looks up at his wife and smiles genuinely at her in thanks. "You want to get another drink?"

Brennan shakes her head and stands up. "No, not this time because see, I still have to show you what I got." With that Booth threw down a wad of cash that Sid could take and allows his wife to guide him out of their restaurant. God, he loved this woman.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – A Boy in the Tree**

Booth and Brennan had decided for once to go to work in the same car, which meant taking Booth's SUV. So here they were sitting in the car waiting for Zach to come out. Booth is getting impatient, "Bones, Where's the kid?"

Brennan just shrugs her shoulders and looks out the window toward the lab. "I don't know what's taking him so long."

Booth decides to take advantage of the fact that these two were alone for once while on the job. "I think Angela is going to be our biggest problem here. She's not like you squints, she goes with her gut like me and she's usually not wrong."

Brennan nods her head. "Yeah, I was thinking that I might need to be even more condescending toward you now. You know to throw her off the road."

Booth chuckles softly and pats his wife's leg, "It's throw her off the path, babe. And I think you're right. But not just in front of her, in front of everyone. I don't like the idea of us not working together. I need to know you're safe and I can only know that if I'm with you."

Brennan looks out her window to make sure no one is there and then leans in and kisses her husband's cheek, "I'm glad to hear that you care about me." Booth just smiles at his wife and continues to wait for her assistant.

~BONES~

When Zach finally came to the waiting SUV Booth gets straight to business. "We got a dead body at a prep school out in the sticks."

Brennan sees this as the perfect opportunity to 1. Let Zach know that they didn't come together and 2. To make it look like she doesn't like working with Booth. "Good morning to you too."

Zach of course is truly oblivious to what Brennan is trying to do and he just leans forward and asks Booth, " You're successful with woman, right? I mean they like you?"

Booth looks at Zach for a second, really trying to figure out what this kid was talking about. He then glances at his wife and tries to see what she meant by her earlier comment. "Okay, look, it's a very prestigious prep school with a lot of rich kids."

Brennan tries even harder to let Zach see her 'true' feelings for this assignment. "I thought that it was good to start with 'Good Morning'."

Zach is still leaning forward and asks something that blows Booth for a loop hole, "If a woman said, to you, take a hint, what would that mean?"

Booth can't take it anymore. "Could we just concentrate on the job?" He sees that Zach has finally given up on his questionings and he finally gets what his wife is doing. "Thank you. Now, I know the sheriff out there. She's mostly okay but the school got a lot of pull with the county and she's probably trying to scrape the whole case off on us. Look, what I'm trying to say is… it's not just a crime scene but it's a political situation, so when we get out there you follow my lead and you pay attention."

Zach still insists on his line of questioning though. "You call after every sexual encounter, right? Because that's the good thing to do."

Booth sighs audibly. Sometimes this kid just got on his nerves. "Look, this is a work mode. This is a work zone. Do not talk sex at work."

Brennan is now all in with her efforts to dissuade her friends and colleagues of her position with this job. "First, you tell me I'm too task oriented. Then when I say 'Good Morning', you say that I should concentrate on the job."

Booth loves seeing his wife work her magic and he loves playing the part. "All right, look, we've got about a forty-five minute drive. What do you say we pass it in quiet meditation?" He loves having a secret life sometimes.

The car group is finally pulling into the school grounds. Zach asks, "Can I talk now?"

Booth doesn't even want to know what this kid wants to talk about, "No."

Brennan looks at Booth in 'disbelief' and states, "That's not fair." She then turns to her assistant, "Okay, we're here now."

Booth tries to make a point though. "My car. My rules. Period."

~BONES~

As the group is being lead to the crime scene Karen tries to make small talk with Brennan. "I don't know if you remember me but we worked together on a case? Bunch of bones found in a culvert about a year ago?"

Brennan isn't really paying attention to what the Sheriff has to say and absentmindedly states, "I remember the bones in the culvert."

Booth comes up to his wife and suggests something of importance that he hopes she'll take in and try to use. "You know Bones, being nice to the locals by remembering their names and such wouldn't hurt."

The Headmaster tries to move along this investigation as fast as possible. "Our two week term break ends tomorrow; I'd like to get this tidied up so the students never know what happened."

Brennan – being the ever rationalist out there – simply replies, "Well, we don't know what happened yet that's why I'm here. Did anyone touch the body?"

Karen shakes her head in a negative. "I doubt it. It's pretty grisly."

Sanders walks up to Booth and asks, "Nothing on small talk, is she?"

Booth smiles inwardly thinking of what they did last night. "Dr. Brennan is very focused."

As they come up to the crime scene Brennan asks the obvious question, "Where are the remains?"

Booth looks up in the tree and points up while saying, "Bones. Is that a student?"

Sanders tries to stop that line of questioning. "Ah, it's a secure campus. It's got to be a student, staff, or faculty."

Brennan continues to look at the remains and tells Zach, "Video first. I don't want your flash disturbing the crows."

Sanders smartly states, "Yeah that would be a shame. Disturb the human flesh eating birds."

Booth asks Brennan, "You want to increase the perimeter here?" When she slightly nods her head in an affirmative he turns toward the two men. "Gentleman, give my forensic anthropologist some room."

Brennan turns toward Booth at his words, inwardly liking them. "Your forensic anthropologist?" Booth gives her his charming smile and she can see the twinkle in his eyes showing his love for her.

~BONES~

Booth had rushed to the lab to see what exactly his wife meant on the phone when he was with the Headmaster. "What do you mean it's not a suicide?" He starts to leap up the steps on the platform and then an alarm goes off loudly. "What the hell is that?"

Brennan sees another chance to fool her colleagues. "We can't just let anyone step into the forensics area and contaminate all the boring details."

Booth sees that Zach swipes his own card and the alarms go off. The kid then pushes Booth aside. He's confused by his wife's words. He knows she knows what he meant by what he said when he was with the Headmaster, so why was she… "The boring details?" He then points his finger at Zach, "Do not push me kid." Yet Booth needs to know that his wife knows he loves what she does, 'boring details' and all. "'The boring details' was my signal for you to stop talking, okay?" Booth then realized something that he needed (more like wanted). " I want my own card."

Brennan looks at her husband and smiles inwardly. "Well, I want my own gun."

Booth shakes his head amused. This had been an ongoing 'debate' with the two of them. "Last time you had a gun you shot someone."

Zach jumps in on the conversation, "He was a bad guy."

Booth just stares at the two now. He was not going to deal with this right at the moment. "Okay, look, who's our victim?"

Brennan smirks at her husband. She really does like to play with him. "All the boring details?"

Booth finally sees – again a little slowly – what Bren was doing. "Let it go Bones, move on."

Brennan almost shouted – for show of course, "Don't call me Bones!" She thought briefly that she could do this all day with her alpha male of a husband and then some more 'recreational' things as well. But right now she had to explain why this might not be a suicide to her partner.

~BONES~

After meeting at the Bureau and Brennan saying that this was in fact a homicide even though she didn't know that for certain, the duo is now in the SUV driving. Booth looks toward his wife and takes her hand and gently kisses her knuckles. "Thank you."

Brennan smiles at her husband but doesn't understand why he thanked her. "For what?"

Booth brings their intertwined fingers in his lap and gently caresses hers. "For going with my instincts in there."

Brennan shakes her head slightly. "I did not back up your instincts. I bought time to find the facts I need to tell me what happened to Nestor Olivos. Although I do trust your instincts. What's with you and the private school anyways?"

Booth looked at his wife for a second and then just told her in an even voice, "I don't…I don't like people who think they're better than other people."

Brennan tries to help him see the truth of the matter though. "Some people are better than other people. Some people are just smarter than others there's no use being offended by the fact Booth. That doesn't mean though that we should be treated differently. I agree with you on that." She smiles at him warmly and goes back to the case. "What are we going to tell Nestor's parents?"

Booth thinks for a second. "We tell them that their son was found dead. We're looking into it. Sorry for your loss and we are."

Brennan looks at her husband confused. "What?"

Booth squeezes her hand slightly. "Sorry for their loss. It's sad." He then says gently, "Try to remember that."

Brennan looks at him mad at his insinuation. "Uh, I'm not a sociopath."

Booth flashes his charm smile and chuckles. "You're bad with people, okay. No use being offended by the fact."

~BONES~

The couple walks into Wong Foos and start to head to their usual table. Sid comes over to them as they enter though and says, "Hey, I'll say this…I haven't seen you guys in a while."

Booth smiles at his old friend. One of the few who know this couples secret. "Sorry Sid, we've been loaded down with cases. We barely made it here today."

Sid laughs at his friend's disgruntled look and slaps him on the back while saying, "Hey, the bone lady keeping you busy at work. I like that in a woman."

Brennan smiles at their old friend and shakes her head. "Sid, you couldn't handle me."

This makes Sid laugh even harder and Booth bring Brennan to mold to his side. After Sid got his laughter somewhat under control he motioned for the two to sit down. "I'll get your meal."

The two sit down at their normal seat. This was their one haven from their workplace. Here they didn't know anyone but the workers and no one knew them. It was great. So Booth and Brennan sat on the same side of the booth. Booth started to lean in to give his wife a kiss when he heard Zach say out of nowhere, "Nestor's bones are completely normal. Not brittle in any way." This too surprised Brennan. She really wanted to be alone with her husband right now.

Booth nearly jumped across the room from the near reveal of their relationship. He looked up and glared at the three squints that were sitting down. "You know this is kinda my little getaway place. You know?"

Angela looks at Brennan's flustered condition but continued Zach's thought process. "It proves the rope left in the branch where Nestor was hanging are too deep for his weight."

Booth sarcastically says, "Please everyone. You know come on just sit down."

Hodgins ignores the sarcasm and tells Brennan what he found. "Eggs, larva, waste all indicate that the insects which fed on the body are all indigenous to the tree in which he was found. It means he died there approximately ten to fourteen days ago." He then yells to whoever took the orders, "I'll have the seven organ soup."

Brennan says without thinking, "You don't order, Sid just brings it." When the two 'human' squints look at Brennan like she grew a second head, she quickly covered herself. "At least that's what Booth said."

Zach just continues on like normal, oblivious to what just almost happened. "He didn't void. Usually somebody hangs themselves the flood gates open, bodily fluids everywhere."

Hodgins looks at Zach for a second and then back at the two seated in front of them. "There was plenty of the affluent in his clothes but they are all post decomposition. As the body swells, it bursts from internal gases. How does the guy know what you want?"

Brennan shrugs her shoulders, "Sid has a knack."

Booth tries to cover for his wife this time. "I've known Sid since I moved to DC, he's good at what he does."

Zach yet again, stays with the case. "The birds ate his eyes, ears. They worked their way into the skull."

Hodgins doesn't really know a lot about the skeletal system asks. "Birds pecking at the soft tissue of the throat, could that crack the hyoid?"

Brennan shakes her head looking down at the photos in front of her. "No, it's a stress fracture caused by the rope against his throat not post mortem."

Angela sighs sadly. "You put a high sensitive adolescent in a high-pressure prep school add social alienation cultural differences pressure from high achieving parents…could be suicide."

Booth doesn't like that. He won't accept that. "It's not a suicide."

Brennan looked at the group to explain. "Because Booth thinks that prep schools turn out entitled criminals."

Hodgins points to all the squints. "We all went to private schools and none of us are criminals."

Zach nods his head. "In fact we fight criminals. We're crime fighters."

Booth looks Zach straight in the eyes. "No you're not. You're…I'm just saying it's not a suicide."

Angela smiles at Booth's response. "I'm a big believer in instinct."

Booth smiles for once since the squints came. "Finally, a squint with an open mind."

Angela's smile turns into something much more devious. "You have no idea of how open minded I can be."

Thankfully Sid came over with their food and saved Booth from everyone seeing his panicked look across his face. Angela was definitely going to be a problem. "What's with these pictures? This is a restaurant. People come here to eat. What's the matter with you people?" Sid started to gather all the pictures and push them in the manila folder. He knew that his friends worked with dead people, but he didn't need to see this and what was with the new entourage? "Booth, what the hell did you bring into my place?"

Booth lifts his hands in defense. "I had nothing to do with it."

Brennan looked down at her food, still amazed that Sid got her what she wanted each time. "This is exactly what I want. This is amazing. Sid you definitely have a knack."

Hodgins looks down to see his order is indeed in front of him. "Oh, so you do take orders?"

Sid glares at the man. "Of course we do but it's always better when you leave it to me. Booth?"

Booth tries to placate his friend. "Okay, I will take care of it. You're saying that the boy died like ten to fourteen days ago?"

Hodgins smells his soup and says, "Hey bugs buzz but they do not lie."

Brennan fills Booth in a little. "Hodgins is very good at using insects to ascertain a time of death."

Booth points a key point out though. "How do you explain an email that was sent 7 days ago from Nova Scotia? Hmm? See, look at that. It stinks. Go ahead, smell it. You know you wanna smell it. It stinks."

~BONES~

Booth is pissed off now. This whole case was just pissing him off exponentially. He hadn't been nice in that interrogation room, but he had good reasons. He could tell his wife was going to say something… Which of course she does do as they get out of the SUV. "So let me just get this right, I'm the tactless and insensitive one."

Booth really hated when his wife sounded right, which usually meant she was. Darn. "Okay, look. The girl lied to a Federal Agent during the investigation in the death of a boy that she said she loves. You know what? These kids, they all lie. That school teaches them that they're special, that they're above the rest of us. Well they're not."

Brennan shakes her head in disbelief. "You're the least objective person I have ever met."

Booth smiles slightly at that statement, knowing she didn't mean it as a compliment. "Thank you."

Brennan laughs a deep laugh at her husband's response. "It's not a compliment."

Booth looks at his wife with his 'puppy dog eyes' he knows she can't resist. "Aw, c'mon Bren, you know something is wrong here. Alright, the school, the tapes, now Sheriff Roach."

Brennan caves in – just a little though – so that doesn't count. "All this mess you're uncovering. It smells, yes but doesn't add up to murder…not logically."

Booth just wants his wife for once to use her heart instead of that beautiful brain of hers. "Maybe if you looked for more than the facts you would be able to see the bigger pic…"

Brennan interrupts her husband's rant in the middle. "Maybe if you opened your mind we could find out the actual truth."

As the two of them were arguing the Sheriff pulls up with the tapes and the two go back into 'partners' mode.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were in his office watching one of the tapes.

Brennan sat back a little and gave her husband this much. "You're right about the school… serving pudding."

Booth smiles at his wife's misstated phrase. "Stirring the pudding babe. It means…"

Brennan sees something that she wasn't expecting. "Melodee Destry, that's Camden's mother. Wait, is that…is that Nestor Olivos she's with?"

Booth looks at what his wife is pointing at more closely. "Nope, that's Nestor's roommate, Tucker Pattison."

~BONES~

Hodgins looks at the two standing in front of him and tells them what he found. "Tabanid pupil casing show the boy ingested a heavy dose of Ketamine before he died. Kids call it Special K."

Booth almost looks smug at this new information. He knew it wasn't suicide. "So somebody dosed him, right? That explains why he wasn't struggling before the hanging."

Brennan looks at her man in disbelief. Is he really being that closed minded? "Or wild thought? He took it himself for fun, like most kids do." Booth just looks at his wife not buying that for one second. However Hodgins decides at that moment to burp in front of his face.

Booth says disgustingly, "Dude, minty burp, still burp."

Hodgins glares at Booth. "Yeah well who took me to Wong Salmonella's?"

Booth throws up his hands in defeat for once. "Alright, you know what? Just go back to Sid. Let him bring you you're meal. Heartburn will disappear."

Brennan looks at the two in front of her and everything begins to fit. She yells all of a sudden, "Heartburn!"

Booth looks at his wife like she's finally lost her very rational mind. "What?"

Brennan explains her sudden outburst. "Hodgins has heartburn because stomach acid is rising into his esophagus. The Ketamine plus choking could have caused Nestor to regurgitate. The rope would hold the gastric juices in the upper throat weakening the hyoid. Digestive juices are basically hydrochloric acid."

Zach decides at this exact moment to come up to Booth and say, "Sometime when you're not busy, I wonder if I could ask you a few questions about sexual positions."

Booth didn't even want to think about talking about sex with this kid, especially since he would be thinking of his wife and him…And now he needed to be alone with his wife. "If you even try, I will take out my gun and shoot you between the eyes."

Brennan pointed out what began to make sense of the damage she sees. "These marks here and here that's scaring consistent with hydrochloric acid."

Booth looks at his wife in frustration for two very obvious reasons now. "I don't like where you're going with this."

Brennan looked at him and saw how dark his eyes were turning. She stares at him for a second longer and licks her lips slowly, knowing what that stare meant. "I need to run a few scenarios through the Angelator."

~BONES~

Brennan is in front of the Angelator and asks Angela to change some variables. "Replace the values for the hyoid bone mass with these sliding coefficients. That will replicate bone deterioration as the hyoid is being digested by stomach acid."

Angela nods her head and starts to type some things into the computer. "I'm applying a timeline and running in fast-forward. This will show it in measure time."

Brennan points to what is happening in the hologram. "The body decomposes and the gastric juices trapped by the noose in Nestor's esophagus actually digest the hyoid over time." She finally sees where, when, and why the bone cracked. "Wait, there the hyoid cracked."

Angela takes note of the time. "A hundred and ninety six point three hours just over 8 days."

Brennan looks at her husband who is looking at the hologram in front of him. She doesn't like to hurt him but she has to stick with the facts. "This finding is congruent with suicide."

Booth shook his head at that statement. "I do not accept that."

Brennan looks Booth straight in his eyes. "It's a fact; you can't not accept a fact. I have to amend my cause of death report."

Booth looks right back at her, unwavering. "Then you'll stop my investigation. The school trying to cover up a murder and you're helping them."

~BONES~

After everything was said and done, Booth knew his gut would work out for him in the end. His gut was always right. Booth walked into Wong Foos holding hands with his beautiful wife. He stopped dead in his tracks and let go of her hand though when he saw the rest of the squints there. "Oh no, this isn't going to work. I mean this is our place." Booth looked around and found his friend behind the counter. "Sid?"

Sid looked at the group sympathetically and shrugged. "As long as they keep it down on the subject of rotten corpses and bodily fluids, I have no beef at all."

Hodgins finally looks up at the duo standing by the door. "Okay that is amazing. I had heartburn. I asked Sid to bring me something and now the heartburn is gone. I mean it's gone. Man I love this place."

Booth just gives up finally. He points to where Hodgins is sitting. "Okay fine, new rules that counter is mine. That booth is yours everything else around here alright, mine. Alright, mine…M-I-N-E, mine." He says this as he points to every other table in the restaurant.

Brennan smiles at her husband's possessiveness over their little getaway. She did love him for a reason, and this was just one of them. "I've been thinking about your whole 'something stinks' aptitude. I always knew you had a subconscious knack for reading body language, stress in the voice, other subtle but discernable indicators. It's not mysterious but it is impressive and in the future, I will try to believe in your gut more often."

Booth smiles warmly at his wife and whispers, "Thank you babe. I appreciate that. What do you say we get out of here though? I really wanted so alone time with my wife and I don't think that'll happen here."

Brennan smiles up at Booth and slowly, yet discreetly leads him out of the restaurant without any of her colleagues noticing. Once Booth knew they were out of sight from the squints eyes he started to kiss his wife hungrily. "God, I wanted to do this all day."

Brennan bit his bottom lip softly and almost groaned when Booth brought her back against the wall and she felt his full form mold within her and his quite obvious arousal for her. "I love that you get turned on so easily baby." She then wraps her legs around his waist and starts trailing kisses down the column of his neck as she slid something in his pocket. Booth looks to see that a Jeffersonian ID is in it. He mentally thinks, Nice. But then his wife grinds her hips down onto his need for her and he soon finds himself carrying her to his SUV, with catcalls being yelled out by passing cars. He is so happy to be married to this beautifully amazing woman.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The Man in the Bear

Booth followed his wife into her office while she looked at the photos he just gave her. He heard her say, "Looks human to me." But what he was really thinking about was how his wife woke him up that morning which meant that he wasn't watching where he was walking, which meant that he bumped into his wife who had stopped walking.

He grabbed her hips gently to steady themselves. "Sorry."

Brennan looked back at her husband amused a little. She had felt her husband's slight arousal when he bumped into her, which reminded her of her wake-up call for him. She smirked a little and asked, "What's the deal?"

Booth tried to clear his head by sticking with the facts. "It was found in Eastern Washington State."

Brennan dropped the file onto her desk and looked at her husband. "Where?"

Booth smiled grimly at his partner. "Inside a bear."

She looked up at Booth one more. Did she hear him right? "No, I mean ... Inside a bear?"

Booth explained their findings. "An autopsy revealed more bone fragments in the bear's stomach and intestine."

Brennan walked to her coffee table to pick up some more files while she clarified, "An autopsy on an animal is called a necropsy."

Booth smirked at his wife's vast knowledge. "Yeah, that's pretty crucial we get that straight right off the bat, meanwhile about the dead human being…"

Brennan finally sat down at her desk and asked, "What do you need me for, the bear ate somebody."

Booth took a flash drive out of his pocket and flipped it in the air. "26 bone fragments in total, the case bumped to the Seattle field office, they bumped it to me. Check it out." He handed over the USB drive to his wife.

Brennan took the flash drive out of Booth's hand. "Why they bump it to you?"

Booth didn't want to say it, but he knew that his wife knew why he got this case. "Bones, I mean do you really care for the inner workings of the FBI office"

She smiled at her husband amused. "They bumped it to you because you work with me." She plugged the flash drive into her computer and waited for the pictures to be loaded up.

Booth smiled down at his wife completely denying that truth. "No, they hoped you could help ID the body."

Brennan looked at the first picture of a hand and looked up at Booth in disbelief. "From a hand?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, they have high expectations."

Brennan sighed lightly and looked at the images in front of her. "Definitely human, opposable thumb, probably male from the size ... uh oh ..." She looked at an image of the proximal radius and ulna.

Booth didn't like the sound of that. He walked around the desk and stood behind his wife looking down at the screen. "What?'

Brennan pointed to what she saw. "Kerf marks. Marks made from a cutting tool."

Booth hoped that wasn't what it sounded like. "Maybe when they cut open the bear?"

Brennan shook her head. "No, it's not a straight edge. Residual cross-section striae." She pointed out the specific butting pattern.

Booth looked at his wife in amusement. Sometimes she forgot who she was talking to. "Just because you say it in that definitive tone doesn't mean it means anything to me."

Brennan smiled at that and explained in terms her husband would understand. "These marks where made from a saw, the hand was already separated from the rest of the person when the bear ate it."

He looked at his wife and stated, "Somebody was dismembered and fed to a bear." Yuck.

Brennan titled her head slightly, considering that idea. "That's one possibility."

Booth definitely did not like that thought. "Woo. 'Kay, um... thanks babe."

Brennan leaned a little into him and smiled. "Glad I could help." She then pulled the flash drive out of her computer and handed it back to him.

Booth took the drive back but instead of leaving he walked around her desk and stood across from her. "But, you're not done."

Brennan started to look at her other files at her desk. "I'll check out the photographs and x-rays and see if I can confirm sex and age."

Booth couldn't wait to tell his wife this. "Pack your bags; we're going to Washington State."

Brennan stopped what she was doing in the chart and looked up at her husband in disbelief. "I'm not going to Washington State."

Booth started to sit down in the chair behind him. "Again, just because you say it in that definitive tone doesn't mean it means anything to me." Booth tossed the USB in the air again and gave Brennan his most charming smile. "Besides, we get to spend some time alone away from everyone here. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Brennan contemplated that for a few seconds and then a wide smile grew across her face.

~BONES~

Brennan was trying to make it look to Dr. Goodman that she in fact did not want to go. She now, however, wanted to know the second reason why Goodman was sending her to a different state. "And secondly?"

Goodman looked at his colleague. "Secondly, it's time to live a little Temperance, connect with other people."

Brennan did plan on 'connecting' with people but she couldn't believe that her boss would suggest it. "Are you suggesting I take this opportunity to have sex with Booth on a field trip?"

Goodman would have spat out his drink if he had been drinking something. "Good god, where is Dr. Floyd when you need him?"

Brennan looked at Goodman confused. "I don't understand what you're saying."

Goodman began to slow down in his pace. "Which is precisely why I am sending you to the Great North woods." He stopped and turned toward Temperance. "Come on now, you've partially digested dismembered skeletal remains to examine, that should put a smile on your face. Mosquitoes out there are the size of dogs, pack insect repellent." After that warning he started to walk away. Which meant he didn't see the big smile come across Brennan's face. She had become an exceptional actor.

~BONES~

Booth loved this part of their trips. "You know being cooped up in crappy hotel in the middle of nowhere, with a fifty dollar per dime, was not my idea of a good time either, you know. But now that I have you babe, the sky's the limit." Booth smiled at that idea.

Brennan looked over to her husband. "You only got fifty dollars a day? How did you live on that?"

Booth smiled at his wife. "With very small amounts of food. Although, I still don't understand how you don't have a limit – not that I'm complaining mind you. But we still work for the government."

Brennan smiled at him. "I imagine I am treated differently than you because I have an indispensable skill. I don't think you can determine the origin of the kerf marks as well as the sex and age of the victim without me."

Booth chuckled at that. "You know you're a smart ass. You know that?" He then looked at his wife with a wide smile.

Brennan looked out her window trying to hide her smile from Booth. "Objectively I'd say I'm very smart, although it has nothing to do with my ass."

Booth's smile grew even more when he saw her reflection in the window. "You know what; it doesn't matter anymore since you can put me on your tab now."

Brennan patted Booth's leg. However she became serious when she said, "That still doesn't seem ethical."

Booth smirked at his wife and simply said, "You still want that gun now, don't you? Hmm."

Brennan smiled lopsidedly at him. "Fine, we'll start with breakfast."

Booth chuckled at his wife's answer. "You know it's beautiful here, it's feels good to be out of the city. Just the two of us, where nobody knows us. We can be ourselves."

Brennan couldn't help but point this out though. "Yeah, where murders feed their victims to bears and the local police know who we are and why we're coming."

~BONES~

Booth pulled up the curb and got out of the car with Brennan following suit. "Small town America gotta love it."

Booth looks around at the town when Brennan walks down the sidewalk. "This is not a small town. Chantal, Guatemala, 150 people, no running water. That's a small town."

Booth shook his head amused. "I said small town America, not small town Guatemala. And you know I've been there too Bones."

Brennan hurried to catch up with her husband. She gave him a sympathetic smile at his last statement. She rubbed his upper arm while saying, "I know Booth." Then looking in the direction he was heading she asked, "Where you going?"

Booth smiled at his wife and wrapped his arms around her. "To see the Sheriff."

Brennan smiled up at him. "How are you going to do that?"

Booth sent her his charm smile. "It's an old FBI trick, I'm going to ask somebody who lives here." He then leaned in and kissed his wife softly on the lips.

After they broke apart, Brennan squeezed the back of his neck – where her hand rested – and whispered softly, "I'm sorry you went down there to shoot somebody through the heart from 1500 feet. You are a very good man Booth, never doubt that. I love you."

Booth smiled warmly at her and placed a chaste kiss on her lips on last time. "I love you too babe. Now go and look at that hand. I know you're dying to see it."

Brennan smiled at Booth and started to walk away from him. She really did love that man.

~BONES~

Booth walked in with the sheriff toward his desk. "You must have a few resident crazies?"

The sheriff merely shrugged his shoulders. "Juvenile bush drinking, couple of domestics, a bar fight or two? Joy riding. The only felons we have are poachers. They shoot the black bears and sell the gallbladders on the black market. Park rangers handle that stuff."

Booth heard a knock from behind him and knew who it was in an instant. And this sheriff was a little too happy to see his wife standing behind him. He waved at her and smiled, "Can I help you?"

Brennan loved seeing Booth in jeans. Something that brought out his rugged side, she guessed. She really couldn't wait to get to their room. She smiled at the woman who led her to the group and pointed at Booth. "Yeah, thanks, I'm with him."

The sheriff whispered in Booth's ear, "Suddenly I wish I was FBI."

Booth didn't like the idea of another man thinking of his wife in that way, but he knew that that was an irrational thought because his wife was so damn beautiful. So instead of getting – as his wife would put it – 'alpha male possessive', he chuckled at the sheriff's words and introduced the two. "Sheriff Chris Scutter, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

The sheriff gladly took her hand and shook it. "My first forensic anthropologist, please." He gestured to the seat across from his desk for her to sit in.

Brennan not noticing the slight flirtation going on got right into the case. "We need to find the rest of the body."

The sheriff walked around his desk and stated, "Sherman, Ranger Rivers, traced the bear's route back a week. Said he didn't find anything." He then sat down.

Booth stood, however, possessively behind his wife – inching closer by the second to send silent signals to the sheriff to back off. "What is he, some kind of Indian scout?"

The sheriff chuckled at that. "Sherman is a Flathead Indian, but since the bear was wearing a GPS collar, he didn't have to fully utilize his native powers."

Brennan didn't get that humor, since no one could possess such powers. "Did he check the scat?"

Booth didn't like the sound of that little trip they were going to have to take. "What, you think there are more people parts in the bear crap?"

The sheriff now became a little too eager to help. "We could maybe go out with Sherman tomorrow, take a look?"

Booth couldn't help it this time. He needed to let this man know that he didn't like what he was doing. "Oh, yeah, now that you've met Bones, you're all about the inter-agency cooperation."

The sheriff looked in-between the two. "Bones? Now I don't think that's anyway to talk to a lady."

Brennan smiles tightly at him. "I like it."

The sheriff however wasn't dissuaded. "Do you have dinner plans?"

Brennan was about to let him know that she in fact did have dinner plans, when her husband placed his hand on her back, pressing his front to it – almost like shielding her – and said, "We're working." He then threw the binder he had been holding back to the sheriff. "Thanks for that."

~BONES~

Sherman was showing the couple around the path the bear traveled. "We've been looking for that female hiker since she went missing. But sometimes you never find a trace; they fall in the ravine, the river. So how do you like the Evergreen Lodge?"

Brennan smiled at her memory of what she and Booth did last night on their terrace. She really was happy to have been 'forced' to come here. "Very nice, I have a beautiful view, that is, of the mountains from my terrace."

Booth moved in closer to his wife and brought his hand to the small of her back and caressed it softly, him too remembering of their beautiful view they had.

Sherman pointed out where they found the bear – unaware of the two behind him. "This was where the bear was shot."

Booth started to walk ahead of Sherman when he asked, "Where did he get before he died?"

Sherman pointed just beyond the bend. "About a hundred yards."

While Brennan and Sherman were talking, Booth had found some bear scat. "Over here."

Brennan followed the voice and found Booth standing next to a tree. "You find something?"

Watched as his wife came up to him. "Some bear scat in the woods. I think he was here and he headed off over there." Booth then pointed just ahead of him.

Brennan put down her bag and brought out some gloves and a container for the sample. "See if you can find some older samples."

Booth and Sherman started to walk away, however Sherman continued to look on at Brennan in amazement. "She ain't the squeamish type, is she?"

Booth smirked slightly and told Sherman, "I'm going to go out on the limb here Sherman and guess you don't get a lot of eligible good looking women coming through town."

~BONES~

Brennan was still smiling internally at the idea of how she got some of her sex scenes from her book when she started to set up her laptop in front of Charlie. She needed to do some research and having a husband who had excellent stamina…Brennan spoke to Zach, "Give me a second, I'm connecting to the satellite."

Zach patiently waited for her to set up. "Alright."

Brennan set everything up and saw a box come on her screen. "Okay, I'm linked."

Zach began to tell Brennan what he'd been doing. "I've been focusing on, Dr. Brennan..."

However Charlie started to speak over Zach while he walked around the counter to stand behind Brennan. "Who's that?"

Brennan wasn't really paying attention to what Charlie was doing; wanting to see what Zach needed help with, answered, "My assistant, Zack."

Charlie spoke into the phone, "Hey Zack."

Zach finally realized that he was not being paid much attention to asked, "Who's that?"

Brennan brought up the window to receive the images while she absent-mindedly said, "The overnight guy Charlie... Ok, I'm set up; you can send me the picture."

She loaded the images when Charlie asked, "Hey Zack, does your boss have a boyfriend?"

Zach answered honestly – well from what he knew to be the truth, "Not currently. Are you extremely good looking?"

Charlie looked at Brennan when he answered, "Yes I am Zack."

Brennan looked at the images more intensely finally seeing what they were. "Zack, these are bite marks."

Zach looked at the screen in front of him. "You mean from the bear?"

Brennan shook her head. "No, black bears have premolars that are small and pegged like. These marks show double cusp pattern."

Zach thinks for a second and answers, "Pigs are doubled cusped."

Charlie leans in just slightly to ask, "Hey Zack, are you extremely smart?"

Zach answered again in honesty, "Yes, I am Charlie."

Brennan stayed on topic, not willing to be distracted by such talk. "Pigs have six incisors, these marks were made by four incisors, like a chimp but these teeth form a continuous arch. "

Charlie looked at Brennan and asked curious, "So, what's got a continuous arch?"

Zach didn't like the answer. "Humans."

Brennan looked very disturbed by this newest revelation. "We just don't have a killer on our hands, we have a cannibal."

~BONES~

Brennan looked at her husband who was driving at the moment. Today had been tough and she wanted to go back to their place and just unwind. However, she needed to make sure Angela knew what she needed. "I sent a bunch of frozen meat by overnight air and I need to know what it is as soon as possible."

Brennan listened to Angela talk as Booth started to caress her fingers softly. Brennan soon realized that Angela had asked her a question, "Hmm. Maybe, it's a funny color."

Angela then asked her, "So, did you catch the guy?"

Brennan smiled warmly at Booth and squeezed his hand. "No, Booth lost him in the woods."

Booth let go of her hand and came to his defense. "Whoa, wait a second, I didn't lose him."

Brennan smiled at him and pointed out, "You didn't catch him."

Angela smiled at that. "So you two have the night free?" She could just think of all the fun things they could do.

Brennan brought her hand to rest on Booth's thigh when she responded. "Yes, we can't do anything until I get a determination on that meat and Booth has to wait until its light to look for the guy he lost."

Booth knew that his wife is just trying to distract him from what she was telling Angela and he wasn't playing that game. "I didn't lose him, ok. I...he...tell her that my flashlight died."

Brennan looked at him amused, "She doesn't care Booth."

Angela almost laughed at what was going on. "What?"

Booth motioned for his wife to give him the phone. "Give me the phone babe."

Brennan pushed his hand away, "You know it's not safe to drive and talk on the cell phone."

Angela's jaw dropped. Did she just hear him right? Did he just call Brennan…? "Okay 1. Are you two fighting? And 2. Did Booth just call you babe and if so I want all the dirty details Bren."

Booth started to tell his wife to tell Angela. "Professional pride, tell her. Please tell her that."

However when Brennan looked at him in horror he wondered what had happened. "No, Booth did not just call me 'babe'. You must have misheard him, he said 'Bones'. And Booth wants you to know that he lost the guy because his flashlight died."

Booth eyes widened at his slip of tongue. He would've kicked himself if he could have. Booth tried to play it off though looking at his wife to play along. "And because he's an Indian and he's a park ranger and he's very very familiar with the territory, tell her that."

Brennan hoped this would work. "Did you hear that?"

Angela still wasn't sure, but since she didn't hear Booth stroke out in the background, she had to believe that Brennan was telling the truth. There was also the fact that Brennan wasn't a very good liar. "Yeah, something about Indian Territory?"

Brennan sighed in relief. She looked at her husband and nodded her head telling him that they were safe, this time. "Yeah, she says she understands." She then refocused their conversation back to work, like it should be. "I need to know about that meat as soon as possible."

Angela sighed. "Yeah, I'll tell Zack."

Booth needed to make that Angela wasn't going to be fishing for anything else. "Give me the phone...hold on..." Booth took the phone away from Brennan.

Which she didn't like one bit, so she said in an irritated voice, "What?"

Booth told Angela, "Plus you know what? It wasn't even my flashlight, ok? It was the Sheriff's flashlight and his batteries they ran out, ok? "

Brennan quickly grabbed her phone out of Booth's hand and glared at him a little. "Good night Angela."

Angela still had her gut feeling, but if she was wrong maybe she could speed along what was going to inevitably happen. "Hey, you have to take that man for a drink...and have a little fun yourself."

Brennan nodded her head and looked at Booth letting him know Angela bought their lie. "Fun and a drink, where do we find that?" After she said her last goodbye to Angela and Booth was headed toward the local bar, Brennan sighed in relief. "That was close Booth."

Booth ran his hand over the back of his neck. "I know. I guess I got a little too used to be around you alone. I just…It's getting harder to lie like this."

Brennan smiled sadly, "I know it is Booth. But we have to do this if we want to stay partners. I love you too much to lose this."

Booth smiled at Brennan and brought her fingers up to his lips as he kissed each one of them. "I love you too Bren."

~BONES~

Booth had to use the bathroom when they entered the bar, so Brennan had gone up to the bar alone. Which she assumed led Charlie to ask her to dance. She really didn't want to hurt the man's feelings, so she accepted.

Charlie was now talking about her book's character and her. "So, I was surprised to see you here. You know in your book you don't sleep until you get your man."

Brennan never did understand why people thought she based her character off of herself. A few things, sure, but not the whole character. "Well that's not me, it's just a character. In real life, you have to wait for lab results."

Charlie smiles widely. "I see, so lucky for me."

Brennan laughs at Charlie's attempts to flirt with her. "I don't know, I'm afraid I'm not a very good dancer as apparently I lead."

Charlie played right along with what was meant to be a rejection line. "So, I'll follow."

Booth walked up to the bar to see Charlie dancing with his wife. But he couldn't very well cut in for any reason, so he shook hands with the sheriff as he asked Booth, "Hey Booth, want a beer?" Booth nodded his head and kept an eye on his wife, because if Charlie even started to get touchy…

It seemed Charlie wanted to talk about their current case though. "You know, I climbed with Adam sometimes, so I was kind of freaked out when I found out it was his arm."

Brennan was a bit shocked. "You knew Adam Langer?"

Charlie nodded sadly, "I taught him how to climb. Man he was strong. No matter how much I lift, I could never match him."

Brennan felt Charlie's upper arm for observance only. "You have excellent definition in your biceps and triceps."

Charlie smiled even brighter finally getting the good doctor to flirt with him. "Well, thanks. And you're waist muscles feel good too."

Brennan nodded her head. Yes, Booth told her that in many ways too. "Transverse abdominals...thank you."

Charlie could see that she was going back into her shell and tried to draw her out again. He also noticed her look over his shoulder to that partner of hers. "So that meat we sent back to your lab, that wasn't, ah, more of Adam, was it?"

Brennan shook her head. "I can't discuss..."

Rigby however interrupted her and cut in. "Excusez-moi."

Brennan was shocked to be turned by the doctor. "Dr. Rigby."

Rigby looked at Charlie as he said, "Thought I would rescue you, can't imagine you and Charlie have a lot to talk about."

Brennan doesn't understand why the doctor would think that. "We were managing."

Rigby continued to dance with her as he said, "Look, um, I guess it looks pretty bad for Sherman, huh?"

Brennan didn't understand why everyone wanted to talk about this case so much. "I can't discuss the investigation with you Dr. Rigby."

He tried to explain, "Look, Sherman is a Flathead. The spiritual beliefs of his tribe don't value cannibalism and they never have."

Brennan swayed with the doctor as she tried to explain why they had to suspect Sherman. "Anthropology teaches us that beliefs and customs evolve, that's why you can still find cannibalism practiced today."

Rigby chuckled, "So what, you can enjoy the act of eating another human being?"

Brennan didn't agree with it from her standpoint but.., "I can understand it intellectually."

Rigby diverted the topic to flattery. "Alright, I shouldn't be talking shop, not with such a beautiful woman in my arms." Booth was still watching very keenly from his seat. He saw Rigby spin his wife and then the sheriff cut in. This was beginning to be too much for his sanity.

The sheriff caught Brennan from the spin. "Hey, it's Sheriff time. You really think you can match the bite marks on Sherman's apple to the bite marks on that kid's arm bone?" Rigby left the floor upset.

Brennan just couldn't get away from it. "I don't really feel comfortable discussing a case on the dance floor."

The sheriff really liked this lady. He wanted her to open up to him. "Well, I'm the, we're colleagues." Booth had had enough by then. So he cut in.

He caught his wife firmly as the sheriff spun her out. "Mind if I cut in? Thought you might need a break."

Booth watched as the sheriff looked on at Booth's possessive hold on Brennan. Message sent and received. Brennan looked at her husband and then down at his chest. She licked her lips. "What happened to your shirt?"

Booth looked down at his wife's face and saw that look again. "Well, we're in a bar, it's a look."

Brennan moved to whisper in his ear, "Well, I like it." She then very discreetly bit his earlobe. Booth moaned and closed his eyes for a brief second and brought his wife's waist closer to his own, making them mold together.

"Don't start something we can't finish here babe." Booth then pressed his hips completely against her own so she could feel his arousal.

Brennan moaned softly and tried to think of something else, since they definitely couldn't finish that there. "Everybody is pumping me."

Booth leaned back a little from her and held her a little tighter. "I'm sorry, what?"

Brennan looked at her husband confused as he darkly looked at the three men at the bar. "For information on the case."

Booth chuckled softly at his wife's naïveté. "Bones, they're only pretending to be interested in the case."

Brennan looked back at the three men completely confused now. "Why?"

Booth brought her closer to him and told her, "They're hitting on you babe."

Brennan didn't believe that. She wasn't even sending out signals that she wanted to mate with them. She only wanted to mate with Booth. This caused her to laugh at both thoughts. "Are you sure?"

Booth swung her out, still firmly keeping his hand on her back. "Yes, I'm sure." He then grabbed her hand as she spun out completely. "You're the hottest thing this town has seen in a long time. Check out the competition." He then dipped his wife to show her Denise. God, he loved dancing with this woman. He brought her back up so that they were face to face. "Now that is somebody who wants to eat your heart."

Booth continued to dance with his wife until the end of the song. He was about to suggest they leave and get to their room, when his wife took the words out of his mouth. "Booth, let's get out of here. I plan to finish what I started earlier."

Booth didn't waste any time. He threw down some cash to cover both of their drinks and he hurriedly ushered her out of the bar before anyone else could try and dance with her. He must have broken every law to get to their hotel in the shortest amount of time. By the time they were in front of their door. Brennan was already passionately kissing Booth with everything she had.

Booth pressed her against their door and lifted her so that her legs wrapped around his waist. He deftly found their key and unlocked the door as his wife started to unbuckle his belt. Screw making love. They were going to have very-satisfying, very-rough, very-sexy sex against that wall right next to the door inside their room.

Ever in tune with each other, Brennan knew exactly what her husband wanted. He wanted to claim her as his property and she was all for that. So she – while still kissing him – brought her legs down from around his waist and allowed him to skillfully take off her pants and underwear in mere seconds with the help of her kicking them completely off. She was then lifted back up by her buttocks until she wrapped her legs around his waist again.

Booth could already tell she was ready for him and he didn't waste one moment. He entered his wife, for the umpteenth time yet it never ceased to feel like the first time. In between kisses, Booth told her. "Bren…oh god… I… mmm, love you…You… are mine." He growled out that last word which sent electricity through Brennan's body.

Brennan clung to her husband as she came the fastest she'd ever cum before. "Yes, Booth…Oh…Love you too…Show me… Booth."

Booth felt her walls clench around him and he pushed her over the edge. Mere milliseconds later he joined his wife in their marital bliss.

~BONES~

Booth, Brennan and the Sheriff were walking around in the woods looking for Sherman by following the path he ran down the night before.

Booth and Brennan had talked – after a much needed show of ownership (multiple times) on both of their parts – last night while in bed that they needed it to look like they hadn't spent the night together. So Booth took advantage of their current situation. "You didn't come down for breakfast Bones."

Brennan lied through her teeth. "Wasn't hungry. Sorry you had to pay for your own meal." She had been starving when she had woken up for two things. The first hunger was satisfied after she woke up her husband and the other hunger was satisfied after her husband ordered them room service.

Booth loved this part of their secret; them acting in front of people. It was sorta like foreplay, in its own way. "Called your room, there was no answer."

Brennan looked down and smiled slightly. "Why the sudden interest in my morning habits, Booth?"

Booth tried to think of a reason without sounding completely idiotic. "Well, I just thought we were going to get something to eat. And, you know...so I waited and my eggs got cold. Cold eggs." Yeah, that was lame. He jumped over the small stream and looked back to make sure his wife got across without slipping. He bent down and picked up something from the ground. "This is where my flashlight failed."

The sheriff felt guilty now after everything sunk in. "You mean my flashlight, and how can you be sure?"

Booth holds something up for the Sheriff to see. "Cause this is where I was standing."

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth were walking down the hallway of the hospital as she explained to Booth what was really happening. "Rigby didn't miss it ...moments like this is why I need a gun." Booth sighed and stopped where he was. He bent down to un-holster a gun that was against his ankle. Brennan watched as her husband retrieved it and stood back up straight and handed the gun over to her. "Where else do you keep them?" She took the gun and whispered, "Thank you."

Booth tried to give his trigger-happy wife some type of guidelines. "That is for self defense, so you don't just go blasting away in there."

Brennan accepted those terms. "What if I have to shoot? What part of the body should I hit?"

Booth checked to make sure the room didn't show any signs of danger where he could see and then looked at his wife. "The part that isn't me. Just stay back."Booth opened the door and headed in first, expecting his wife to stay behind him. Which of course she didn't do at all.

Booth just sighed as his wife stated the obvious, "The bodies are gone."

Booth looked around the room still making sure his wife was completely safe. "What's he going to do, take them into the woods for a late night snack?"

Brennan looked at Booth briefly confused and then she got that he was joking. "If I were him, I would destroy the evidence."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan enter the room with their guns pointed at the doctor. "Step away from the incinerator Dr. Rigby." Booth kept his wife covered as she hit the button to stop the incinerator.

Rigby lifted his hands. "You don't understand, it's a spiritual right to share life force with..."

Booth really didn't want to hear that. "Look, you're nuts, k. We get it. We don't need to hear the rambling psycho speech on why you did it."

Rigby started to walk toward Brennan and then toward the body. "You're an anthropologist, you know ancient civilizations would sacrifice some in order to preserve the strength..."

Brennan grabbed a bed pan and hit Rigby over the head with it. Booth looked at his wife shocked and then amused, "What did you do that for?"

Brennan held up the bed pan and shrugged. "Nobody wants to hear that rambling psycho speech."

Booth looks at her smirking. "A bed pan?" He then looked down at the fallen Rigby again. "Hm."

~BONES~

Booth sat next to his wife at the bar for their last meal before the hit the road. He was just handed his plate of breakfast food when Brennan stated, "And to think I didn't want to come here with you. I mean, this was a fascinating case...you don't often find ritual cannibalism in practice so close to home." She brought a spoon full of cereal to her mouth and chewed it slightly.

Booth looked at her and just shook his head. "Which I find a plus."

Brennan nodded in agreement. "There are always those individuals within a species who are driven to break the most basic taboos. I mean Rigby actually ate human flesh."

Booth looked down at his food that he began to cut. He was losing his appetite. "Bones, I just got my steak and eggs..."

Brennan ignored what he was saying and continued with her thought. "Rigby has a Prion disease, which means he's been a cannibal for quite some time...you realize when we go to trial he could use the insanity defense."

Booth pointed his fork at her. "The guy is nuts."

Brennan completely agreed. "Yes, but is he nuts because he got a brain disease from eating human flesh or was he already nuts the first time he ate flesh or did he just lick his fingers after surgery."

Booth dropped his knife and fork on his plate and pushed it away. "I should just become a vegetarian. "

Brennan looked at her husband amused. "Or as an alternative just don't eat people." Booth liked that idea, a lot. He grabbed his plate again and squirted some ketchup on it. He wasn't expecting his wife to say this though. "You know, we should come back up here this winter. Charlie says the skiing is great."

Booth looked at her with a smirk. "Oh, Charlie said that."

Brennan nodded. "Yeah, the overnight guy."

Booth laughed at that. "Yeah, I know who he is."

Brennan could tell that her husband was starting to get jealous at Charlie's attempted flirtations with her. She decided to play with him a little. "I bet he's a great skier. His hips and thighs are perfectly developed for strength and maneuverability."

Booth definitely lost his appetite then. He pushed his plate away again. "I'm done."

Brennan smiled slightly. She then looked at her husband faux concern in her eyes. "What? No good? Want some cornflakes?" She lifted a spoonful of cornflakes toward him. "Want some?"

Booth looked directly at Brennan. "No, but I do want to find Charlie and have a little talk with him…"

Brennan laughed out loud at the way her husband made a face of disgust. She leaned in and kissed Booth chastely on his lips. "I love you Booth."

Booth smiled brightly at her. "I love you too Bones."

Brennan thought to herself that she was lucky that Booth had broken through her walls and showed her how to love fully and not be hurt. She truly did love that man.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please Comment I survive on comments for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok some of y'all (I'm talking about on fanfiction.net) said I should tell the rest of the gang about their marriage but I can't because that's not how I'm writing it so please stop asking me to tell people because only in this story certain people will know later on so start the guessing game.

Chapter 5 – A Boy In a Bush

After giving her lecture to the students the floor was open for questions. Which had not been going so well. Now Dr. Goodman was already asking for a more focused question. A male student asked, "Did you get your agent before or after you wrote the book? "

Brennan was going to answer that she had not "gotten" any agent, but Goodman spoke first. "People, Dr. Brennan is an accomplished forensic anthropologist who writes books on the side."

Booth couldn't resist to ask this, "I have a question regarding role of the F.B.I. in your book: Who do you base the brilliant and insightful Special Agent Andy Lister on?"

Dr. Goodman looked heavenward as if asking for help. "Oh, for God's sake."

Booth gave his wife a rakish smile, "Because, you know, I'm pretty sure it was me."

Brennan smirks just a little bit, "What are you doing here, Booth?"

~BONES~

Booth led his wife toward his SUV thinking that he would be driving them to the crime scene. "Local police got an anonymous call saying that there were human remains in a field behind a mall in the suburbs."

Brennan nodded her head. "I did an anthropological profile of the suburb as a grad student. The whole notion of a created community, a modern utopia with its own mores and rules... It's fascinating."

Booth looked at his wife amused. "Fascinating to who?"

Brennan corrected Booth without thinking about it, it being second nature to her. "To 'whom'."

Booth smiled down at her. "Whom." He then looks at where Brennan was standing and what was in front of her. Now that was a sports car. "You've got to be kidding."

Brennan looked at her husband's face. "What? My publishers gave it to me."

Booth couldn't believe this. His wife's car was…amazing! "Gave it to you?"

Brennan told him what her publishers told her. "Book sales are pretty good. It's supposed to be a nice car."

Booth still couldn't believe it. "Gave it to you?"

Brennan merely nodded, "Yeah."

Booth finally noticed how his wife parked the car. "Well, why'd you park crooked?"

She inspected her parking and explained, "Well, the guy said to always park it like that."

He just shook his head and chuckled softly, "He's wrong. It makes you look like an idiot."

Brennan jangled her keys and asked almost poutingly, "How about I drive for once?"

Booth definitely couldn't allow that. "No, I cannot show up at a crime scene in that."

Brennan was definitely pouting now. Booth loved it. "Why?"

Booth slung his arm around her shoulder and squeezed it softly. "Because it would detract from the gravity of my F.B.I. presence. Especially if you parked crooked." He smirked at the last statement.

Temperance sighed. Sometimes her husband could be insufferable. "Why is the F.B.I. involved in the search for human remains behind a suburban mall?"

Booth pulled out a flyer from his pocket and handed it over to her while he said, "Because this boy is missing."

Brennan looked down and her heart dropped slightly. There she held a missing person's flyer and it was… "Oh, a child."

Booth looked down at her face with a stern face. He hated these cases. "Yeah."

~BONES~

Brennan stood in her office with the rest of the team for a meeting that Goodman called. "These are invitations to a banquet." He handed an envelope to her.

Brennan looked down at the invitation in disbelief. "You called a special meeting to invite us to a party?"

Dr. Goodman looked at the team with a stern eye. "Don't think of this as an invitation, consider it a summons. It's for donors." Dr. Goodman moved to Hodgins to give him the invitation.

Hodgins stands up and says, "Meet and greet, press the flesh, butt kiss…"

Goodman sighs slightly. Yes he knew all of this. "I don't like it any more than you do, but these people fund our research and all they want in return is to rub elbows with a scientist every once in awhile." He then walks toward Angela and was about to hand over her invitation.

Except Hodgins interrupted him. "I can't make it."

Brennan smiled slightly at Hodgins admission. This was her way to get out of this and spend some time with her husband. "Yeah, me neither."

Angela perked up at the other two declarations. "I have a date that night."

Goodman looked at Angela exasperated. He then handed over the invitation. "You don't even know when it is."

Zach raised his hand. Goodman passed over an envelope to him, "Yes, Mr. Addy?"

Zach took the envelope and asked, "What kind of food will there be?"

Goodman had had enough. He looked at the whole group and stated, "When I said you should think of this invitation as a summons, I understated. It's a subpoena. A grand-jury subpoena. Ignore it at your own peril."

Brennan didn't like how that sounded. "You're not gonna fire us if we don't go."

Goodman shook his head. "No, not fire you, but I can move your parking spot to Lot M. Enjoy the shuttle ride."

Zach looked up at Goodman in disbelief. "The shuttle smells like feet."

Brennan sighed. She didn't like it, but she also liked not riding in the shuttle. She and Booth could stay up late maybe… "I know when I'm beat. I'm in."

Angela looked down at the invitation and shrugged her shoulders. "What the hell, it's a party."

Zach really didn't care if he went or not. "Do I have to wear a tie?"

Goodman spoke in a monotone voice, "Formal wear. I've arranged for a limo to pick us up here."

Hodgins just shook his head. "Not me. I'm not afraid of parking or feet."

Zach looked wide eyed at him. "Wait, you drive me to work. You can't just think of yourself."

Goodman smirked a little at that. "Repercussions and consequences Dr. Hodgins. I'm your boss, and you will go to this banquet." Hodgins grabbed hold of the rubber-band and snapped it against his wrist.

~BONES~

Booth walked outside of the Sanders house with Shawn, David, and Margaret. He had fin playing with the two boys. Which pulled at his heart a little thinking about… "All right, look, you beat me bad."

David laughed a little. "No wonder you don't have a girlfriend."

Margaret couldn't believe her son. "David!"

Booth chuckled softly, "It's okay, Mrs. Sanders. It's alright. No, I don't have a girlfriend, I have a wife."

Shawn looked up at him and smiled, "Is she pretty?"

Booth smiled softly thinking of his Bones. He joked with the two boys though. "Nah, she's butt ugly. Got a glass eye, snaggly black teeth. So, was Leila with you the day that Charlie disappeared?" He had an idea of what was going to be said…

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan walk down the corridor of the lab. Brennan worked slightly at her bottom lip. "I'm afraid Angela might quit."

Booth brushed the back of his hand against the back of her hand. He wanted to grab it, but he knew that was a bad idea. "I'm amazed she stuck it out this long."

Brennan looked up at her husband shocked, "Why?"

Booth smiled slightly, "Oh, because she's human." Brennan glared at her husband for that comment. "I'm sorry, Bones, it's just that, you know, uh… Angela didn't get the same training that the rest of you got on, uh, planet Vulcan."

Brennan looked at her husband confused. "I don't know what that means."

They both entered the room where the skeleton was laid out and Zach was waiting for them. Booth looked down at Brennan and tried to be gentle with his next words. He knew how his wife dealt with things and Angela was not his wife. "She's… more sensitive."

Zach looked up at the group at Booth's voice. "Who's more sensitive?"

Brennan looked at Zach, "Angela."

Booth tried to explain what he meant. He knew his wife was sensitive, it's just Angela was… more sensitive to things. "She likes puppies and kitties and ducklings, and, you know, Jell-O shots and, you know, dancing on bars." He started to dance while making some type of beats to dance to.

Brennan rolled her eyes. "I know that. She's my best friend." She then looked at her husband directly. She was hurt a little by his words. Did he think she was cold and insensitive. "And Angela's not the only person in the world who likes baby animals."

Zach being oblivious stated while looking down, "I never got the big attraction."

Booth stared at his wife for a few seconds and mouthed, 'I know'. He then stated – while pointing at Zach to make sure his wife knew he was talking about Zach and not her, "I rest my case. She's more sensitive." Booth smiled softly at his wife.

~BONES~

Booth entered his office with his wife right behind him. "I had to arrest her."

Brennan couldn't believe her husband. "The story checked out. The overdose."

Booth looked at Brennan, "She confessed to kidnapping."

Brennan tried to reason with him, "Margaret Sanders did nothing more than respond to the anthropological imperative. She saw an orphan and reacted."

Booth knew that she was mad at him, but he had to do his job. "This is not a National Geographic study, okay? This is the suburbs babe."

Brennan just shook her head. "Why would she kill the boy? She obviously loved him."

Booth knew that his wife wasn't liking this. He knew her past, he didn't like it either. But the rules had to be obeyed. "There are situations, right? The kid gets sick, he doesn't turn out to be what you wanted. I bet that you could give me a dozen examples of societies that have killed their own young."

Brennan looked at her husband with tears in her eyes "What about Shawn and David Cook? Where do they go now?"

Booth looked down at his desk. He knew she wasn't going to like this, "Back into the system."

Brennan made a sound of disbelief. "Do you have any idea how bad the foster care system is?"

Booth looked at Brennan pleadingly. "Yeah, I do. I know because I know my wife. You've told me what it was like Bren and I'm sorry that they have to go back in the system. But what do you want to do? Do you want us to kidnap them, the way that Margaret kidnapped Charlie?"

Brennan looked at Booth, pleading, "I want you to let them go home to Margaret Sanders."

Booth sighed heavily. He really hated it when his wife was in pain. "I'm sorry Bones, but that's not gonna happen."

She looked at Booth in disbelief. He knew what she went through, he just said it himself. So how could he just let to innocent boys back into that system? She got up and glared at him before she left his office without another word.

Booth brought his head into his hands, man he hated doing that.

~BONES~

Booth finds his wife in the bones room. She was writing notes as he entered. "Bones, I thought you'd like to know that Shawn and David are in emergency care. Pulled some strings, you know, to make sure they- they get to stay together."

Brennan nodded her head. "That's good, thanks."

Booth walked up to her until his front was touching her side. "It's the best I could do."

Brennan shrugged her shoulders trying to hold in her emotions. "Yeah, I understand."

Booth sighed and shook his head. He brought his finger under her chin to make her look at him. "No, you say you understand, but you don't. Not really. I mean, if you don't like the rule, you ignore it, right? I can't have that. And if you want to do this…"

Brennan tried to blink back the tears, but one escaped slowly as she asked, "Do what?"

Booth brought his finger up and wiped away the tear as he said softly as he leaned on the table, "Work on cases, babe. You know, with me outside the lab. If you wanna do that, I need to know that you will respect the law."

Brennan took in a deep breath and told her husband while her voice broke a little, "Tell you what, if I can't respect the law, I can at least respect you Booth." She then tapped his chest a little and smiled sadly at him.

Booth smiled softly at his wife and kissed her on the forehead, completely forgetting where he was. "Well, yeah, that'll work, too. I mean it kind of comes out of nowhere, but…"

Brennan slaps him gently on his chest and laughs softly. She then notices the pencil Booth broke when he leaned on the table. It's in three pieces. She points to the pencil, "Look what you did."

Booth looked down at the pencil confused. "It's a pencil. I'll get you a new one."

Brennan explained, "The victim was killed by trauma to the chest, but the ribs are broken in two places, not just one."

Booth looked at her confused. "Uh, because of the, uh, brittle bones. Because of his disease."

Brennan nodded, "Well, that was my assumption, but there's another explanation." She starts to leave when Booth blocks her.

Booth needed more than that. "Yeah, whoa. What's the other explanation?"

Brennan looks at him directly, "Compression."

Booth followed his wife out of the room. "Like Charlie Sanders was crushed to death?"

Brennan looked at him solemnly, "Yes. Greenstick fractures. Vertebral and Sternal." She held up the pencil her husband broke. "See?"

Booth looked at the pencil and thought of what his wife said. Something was adding up. "Hey, Shawn Cook outweighed Charlie Sanders by, what, thirty pounds? How could he have crushed him to death?"

They were just walking into the lab when they ran into Angela. Brennan knew what they needed to do. "Angela, we need to run some scenarios through the Angelator."

~BONES~

The three of them are standing around the Angelator where an image of Charlie is showing. Angela told Brennan what she wanted to know. "Charlie was three feet, four inches tall and weighed fifty-eight pounds."

Brennan considered the facts. "And Shawn?"

Angela told her, "Shawn Cook is 1.4 meters tall and weighs 31 kilograms."

Booth told his wife about the other brother, "His brother David was 5'8", 150 pounds."

Angela put that into – as Booth called it – 'squint' language, "1.75 meters, 68 kilograms."

Brennan shook her head. She wasn't wrong very often and this upset her. "At first, I thought the break to Charlie's sternum was caused by blunt trauma because it only ran along one fault line. But when Booth broke my pencil, I realized there's another way to cause the same type of injury. Compression."

Angela didn't like that idea. "Hodgins found no particulates that suggested crushing."

Brennan reasoned why there wouldn't be. "Body weight. There has to be enough weight on the victim to stop the abdomen from moving so no air can get into the lungs." Angela put in the data that Brennan just gave her as Brennan continues to explain. "Prolonged pressure caused the sternum to snap in half and the ribs to break."

Angela didn't like the image the played out in front of her. She turned away slightly which Brennan took note of, concerned. Angela tried to apologize, "Sorry, sorry. I entered real-world variables, taking into account Charlie's size and the amount of pressure…" Angela put the newest data in and played the image. She paused it when the sternum broke. "…that was required to break Charlie's sternum in the way that it was broken."

Booth needed to know what that weight was. "What did you end up with?"

Angela looked down at the findings, "86.2 kilograms."

Booth sighed. Sometimes these squints just didn't get that they were in America. "What's that in American?"

Brennan looked at her husband exasperatedly, "190 pounds."

Booth couldn't believe that. "Yeah?"

Angela thought about that. "Way too much for either of the Cook kids or Margaret Sanders."

Booth nodded his head slowly also thinking about the other suspects, "I'd put the neighborhood kid Skyler at about 160 pounds."

Brennan shook her head. "It can't be him either."

Booth looked at Brennan. He didn't like that they now had no suspects. "We should be looking for a full-grown man."

Brennan looked straight back. "You have to get Shawn to tell you where he took Charlie when they left the mall."

Her husband shook his head. "He won't talk to me."

She then thought of something that could work. "Let me do it."

Booth looked at his wife surprised that she would make such a request. She was great with… But with other people, she wasn't the best person to talk with. "Uh, no. You know people are not your strong point, Bones. And besides, he's not going to care how many facts you put in front of him."

Brennan almost grasped his hand but held back and reasoned with her husband. "Could you just go with me on this one, Booth? We're trying to catch a killer. Let me help. I know what to say."

~BONES~

Booth entered his wife's office. He had good news. "We have him cold. The insecticide he was using on the termites matches the fluoride concentration perfectly. Skyler's dad admitted everything."

Brennan sighed though. "Don't tell me, he said crushing Charlie to death was a mistake."

Booth just gave her a grim look. "He never abused Shawn Cook, he just used him to get near Charlie. It played out just like you said. He had Charlie out in that field. Some teenage kids, they come by, so he knelt on Charlie to keep him from crying out. Shawn got scared and ran back to his brother."

Brennan supplied the rest. "Charlie was small and weak. His sternum collapsed. You think he abused any other kids."

Booth sighed sadly, "Yeah, probably his own son."

Brennan gave her husband a sympathetic look. "You report that to Child Services?"

Booth nodded, "Mm-hmm. Try to get the kid some help." He then looked at his wife for a few seconds and stepped up to her and gently squeezed her arm. "Look, I'm sorry."

Brennan was confused. What had he done? "For what?"

Booth smiled gently, almost sadly. "For this case bringing back all those memories and emotions. I know it was hard. How 'bout we go home and just relax."

Brennan sighed. She completely forgot to tell him about the party. She looked at him sadly, "I would love to do that, but I am being forced to go to a party and I need to get dressed."

Booth smiled a little at the image of her in a rather elegant dress. "Oh, okay. Well I'll just go back to the office and finish up the paperwork. I'll see you at home then." He looked behind him to make sure no one was passing by or looking in her office. He then leaned in quickly and kissed her softly.

Brennan watched as her husband left and then remembered something she needed to tell him. "By the way, there's a huge ding in my passenger-side door because you told me not to park it at an angle."

Booth turned around and laughed a little. "What?"

Brennan smiled at her husband, she couldn't really be that angry with him. She couldn't resist that smile. "Okay, that's just mean. You're mean."

Booth was still laughing when he said, "I'll fix it this weekend." He then turned around and started walking away still laughing and called out, "Sorry."

~BONES~

Brennan walked in to Angela hugging Dr. Goodman. "What happened?"

Zach looked at his mentor and explained, "Apparently all Angela needed was to hear her job description in a deep, African-American tone."

Goodman looked at Zach and scolded him slightly, "Mr. Addy."

Booth had decided to help get Hodgins out of the party. So as he walked into the lab he looked only at Goodman, "Dr. Goodman, we need Hodgins in the lab tonight." He then hands over an evidence bag full of dirt over to Hodgins, "FBI needs this analyzed by morning."

Hodgins smiled slightly at Booth helping him. "Uh, I'll get right on it."

Goodman couldn't believe this man's luck, "Wait a minute, what case file is this?"

Brennan looked at her husband confused, "Am I supposed to know about it?"

Angela covered for Booth. "Booth mentioned it to me earlier today."

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. She just wanted to get to this party and home as fast as possible. "That's good enough for me."

Goodman sighed, "Fine. You're off the hook, Dr. Hodgins. Let's not keep the limo waiting." He leaves the lab with Angela and Zach following.

Hodgins turned to Booth and smiled, "Thanks." He left to 'exam' the dirt which left the couple alone.

Booth finally took the time to look at his wife appreciating how the dress looked on her. "You look amazing babe. Better than amazing, you look…"

Brennan blushed slightly. She never got used to her husband's admiration. Still after over three years of being together, he looked at her the same way. With adoration and love. It made her want to… "Thanks." She then motioned for him to follow her. Booth looked at his wife, wondering what she wanted but followed her through a door that led them to the staircase.

"Babe, what are we doing, mmph." The last part of his sentence was cut off by his wife's lips. He eagerly complied with his wife. She did look amazing, hot, in that dress. They had become well adept in ways to cling to each other with the least amount of damage done to their wardrobe.

Booth held onto his wife's neck to bring her closer to him while he backed her into a wall. Things started to get real heated and Booth knew that if he didn't distract himself, that this would not end well. "Bones… how did you know… I was gonna keep… your promise?"

Brennan stopped kissing him and looked at him confused, "What promise?"

Booth placed both his hands and the side of her head. "To get Shawn and David back with Margaret Sanders."

Brennan shrugged, "Maybe I was lying. To catch the bad guy. I learned that trick from you. The end justifies the means."

Booth just shook his head, he knew that wasn't the answer.

Brennan smiled warmly at Booth. She gently stroked the side of his face. "I knew you'd back me up. I knew you wouldn't make me a liar."

Booth hummed at the feel of her caressing touch. "Hmm. How did you know?"

Brennan kissed his lips gently. "Because you want to go to heaven."

Booth looked at her a little shocked. "But you don't believe in heaven, babe."

Brennan smiled again. "But you do."

Booth smiled at his wife and kissed her one last time. "You have to go Bones before your squints come back looking for you. We will continue this when you get home." He couldn't resist giving her a rather passionate promise kiss that left Brennan whimpering when he stopped.

Booth broke the kiss and smiled, "Go and get home as fast as you can."

Brennan glared at her husband, "You are so mean, husband of mine."

He laughed at that and just shook his head while giving his wife's butt a swat as she walked to the door. He wouldn't change her for the world, she was perfect.


	6. Chaper 6: The Man in the Wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These stories I've been posting are completely finish I just didn't have time to post them all, but I will.

 

>   **Chapter 6**

  
Angela entered Brennan's office carrying a coat. Brennan was at her desk working intently on her computer. Angela just wanted to shake her head at that site. "Come on, honey. If we don't leave now, we won't get into the club."  
Brennan had hoped she could get out of this. Booth had told her that Tessa wanted to talk with both of them, so she tried to think of something to keep her while she said, "I'm just finishing up a few emails."  
Angela rolled her eyes at that. She walked in front of Brennan's desk while digging in her purse. "Oh, what?"  
Brennan was still trying to think of something while she told the truth, "My publisher wants to schedule a book tour. I'm just confirming dates."  
Angela sighed. Sometimes her best friend could really not get priorities. "That can wait, sweetie."  
Brennan got up from her desk and walked over to the coffee table and picked up a stack of papers to look over. Yes this would be the excuse she could use. "There's a student that needs help identifying the cause of a fracture on a lateral epicondyle."  
Angela was not amused by this. "TGIF. You heard of that?"  
Brennan saw that her friend wasn't going to let her get out of this one. She needed to call her husband to let him know. But she needed to make on last attempt. "Yeah, it's some kind of acronym. But my inbox is full."  
Angela couldn't believe Brennan. "We know that's not true."  
Brennan started walking back towards her desk. Maybe this one could get her out. "There's a TV show that needs research. Not that they listen…" She began to sift through the papers she was holding.  
Angela has had enough. "We're going" She took the papers from Brennan's hands and started to take off her blue lab coat.  
Brennan knew she was beat…but one last try couldn't hurt. Right? "I really should catalog that skull. It's in the museum's exhibit on the French Revolution."  
Angela just wanted to shake her friend. There were going to be hot guys at the club for goodness sake! "Yeah, Pepé le Pew is more important that booze and boys."  
Brennan looked at her best friend confused. "I don't think that's his name." Angela just shakes her head and guides Brennan out of her office.  
~BONES~  
Brennan had barely been able to talk with Booth. She even had to use code words, since Angela was sitting right next to her driving. Now there they were, inside the club with Angela and Brennan at the bar with drinks.  
Angela smiled at Brennan dancing a little with the music. "Feels good, doesn't it? Being with people who are alive?"  
Brennan smiled slightly. She was enjoying herself, but she would be enjoying herself much more if she had a certain someone to dance with. "It's very stimulating, I have to admit."  
Angela's face broke out in a brilliant smile. "We are so gonna tear it up tonight."  
Brennan looked at Angela confused a little. "That's slang, right?"  
Angela nodded her head, "Right."  
Brennan looked down at her clothes. "Is my costume all right?"  
Angela wanted to laugh at that. "Sweetie, it's not a costume. It's a cute outfit. And yes, it looks perfect."  
Brennan took a sip of her drink. Her husband would definitely appreciate it. "I know, it's very – it's very warm in here."  
Angela laughed at that. "No, because it looks great." She then grabbed Brennan by the arm and led them away from the bar. As they walked through the crowd she told Brennan, "We are so getting checked out!"  
Brennan didn't even pay attention to that statement. "I love this music."  
Angela started to dance a little. "DJ Rulz, he is so hot."  
Brennan yelled over the music, completely oblivious to what others might think. "It's so tribal."  
Angela was still dancing when she told Brennan, "Don't say 'tribal', sweetie."  
Brennan was confused by that. "Why?" And then it dawned on her. "Oh, because of all the black people?"  
Angela grabbed Brennan's arm to reason with her. "Sweetie, just for tonight, have fun, stop dissecting and take part."  
Brennan began to dance as she told Angela, "African-Americans aren't the only ones with tribal heritage."  
An African-American club goer cuts into the conversation, angrily, "You say we're natives of some tribe?"  
Brennan tried to explain, "Anthropologically speaking, we're all members of tribes."  
Another woman approached the group. "You better shut your mouth."  
Brennan looked at the group starting to crowd around her and tried to explain, "I just meant hip-hop mirrors the direct visceral connection you see in tribal communication."  
One of the men shouted upset, "What?"  
Brennan took that as a literal inquiry, "After the Cartesians split in the 17th century, we separated our mind from our bodies the numinous from the animalistic."  
The first woman that yelled at her, now was pissed off. "Are you calling me an animal, fool?"  
A third woman rolled her eyes. "No fool. She's using Descartes' philosophy to say she's down with the music."  
The first woman looks at the third one angered, "Who you calling a fool, fool?" She shoved the third woman which causes her to fall. She then looked back at Brennan and raised her hand like she was about to fight her. "Get out of my way." She then tried to shove Brennan, but Brennan reacted quickly and side stepped the attempt and pushed the woman to the ground.  
Angela couldn't believe what was happening. For once, she wished she could hang out with her friend and it end well. She held up her hands to everyone watching while she followed Brennan away from the crowd. "We're going, we're going."  
However another man who was still upset, grabbed Brennan's arm to stop her. "You shouldn't have done that, bitch!" Brennan reacts quickly to defend herself, by kicking the man hard which causes him to crash into the wall. The wall cracked under the pressure. Some form of powder was released into the room, falling over everyone. Angela licked some of the powder off her finger.  
Angela knew that taste. "Uh oh."  
Brennan looked at the mummified body and then turned to Angela with a perplexed expression.  
~BONES~  
Booth couldn't believe his wife. It was like she was a magnet for dead people. He was having dinner with Tessa when the call came in. At least now he could talk with his wife right away. He and Tessa were walking down a set of stairs following Special Agent Furst when Furst asked Booth, "Are you sure she can handle this?"  
Booth wanted to roll his eyes at that. "No one in our lab knows the first thing about dealing with a mummy. I'd have to call her in anyway." Booth helped Tessa with the stairs. It was the least he could do. If they were going to go out they might as well put on a show. He then followed Furst to the crime scene.  
Furst shook his head at the memory of the doctor. "She assaulted two agents who were trying to tape off the body." He then pointed to Brennan, who was talking to two men asking them to stay away from the body.  
Brennan looked back and saw her husband. She was distracted slightly by the overwhelming arousal that rushed through her body at the sight of him, but she pushed that aside and adamantly said, "They were trying to compromise the remains."  
Furst explained why Brennan was acting like this, "A cloud of meth covered the dance floor. I think they've inhaled quite a lot."  
Booth couldn't help the smile that appeared on his lips. His wife was high, this was priceless. "Are you two high?"  
Angela tried to defend them, "Only by accident, so it doesn't count."  
Brennan looked at Booth then back at Tessa. She wondered, "Why'd you bring Tessa? This doesn't seem like such a great date."  
Tessa crossed her arms and looked at Brennan, going along with the charade. "We were out to dinner when he got your call." Then she noticed her eyes and became concerned for her friend, "Your pupils are the size of saucers."  
Brennan saw two officers from the corner of her eye and rushed over to them. "Wait, get away from the remains!"  
Booth couldn't believe his wife. She was something else when she was high. "Bones, simmer down."  
Two African-American men arrived to the scene in that moment. The one without the cane asked impatiently, "How long is this gonna take?"  
Booth turned around to look at the two men. "Who the hell wants to know?"  
The second man with the cane apologized, "I'm sorry, he works for me. I'm Randall Hall, I run this place."  
Booth went straight into FBI mode. "You run this place Mr. Hall? Interesting, you know, cause we found some drugs on…"  
His wife then cut him off by repeating his words, "Found them, we found 'em."  
Booth looked down at Brennan and gave her a look. "Alright, we found some drugs on the dead guy. We're gonna want to know where they came from, why he had them"  
Brennan repeated him again slightly. "Why?"  
Booth couldn't believe this woman. She should never get high again, that was for sure. He gave her an annoyed look. "Why he had them. Any idea who he is?"  
Brennan was about to try and repeat that, "A…" But she received another look from her husband and decided it was best to walk away.  
Booth turned back to the two men, "Any ideas?"  
Hall smiled smugly at Booth, "The guy barely looks human. What makes you think I'd recognize him?"  
Booth turned back to Brennan who was now looking at the mummy intently. He came up to her from behind and brought his hand to motion at the mummy, "Bones, how does something like this happen?"  
Brennan grabbed her husband's arm to stop him from getting too close to the mummy. "Well, the Egyptians would give the body a cedar oil enema and then rinse it with wine and cover it with salt. But I don't think that's what happened here."  
Booth just shook his head and chuckled a little, "Bones, you are totally wasted."  
Brennan turned around to make a reply to that but she then saw Zach coming down the stairs. She rushed over to him and led him to the mummy. Zach looked uncomfortable, since he didn't know why Brennan was acting the way she was. "Zach! Zach! Zach! Come here! Come here!" She then put her hands on Zach's shoulders as she pushed him towards the mummy. "Isn't this a beautiful specimen of mummification?"  
Zach looked around, confused. "What's going on?"  
Booth explained, "Let's just say your boss inhaled."  
Brennan directs Zach's attention to the mummy. "See how perfectly dried and preserved the skin is? You don't find something like this every day." She then remembered that Tessa was there and turned toward her. "Hey Tessa, have you seen it?"  
Angela looks a little too happy when she said, "It's so hard to believe that you two would be a couple. You know, cop and lawyer. It's very touching."  
Tessa really didn't know what to say, so she decided with this. "I'm gonna grab a cab."  
Booth now felt bad. He dragged Tessa over here without a thought of how she would react to the body. He rushed over to catch up to Tessa, handing her some money. "Oh, no. Oh, ok, hold up. Uh sorry, sorry. I apologize. Here, I'm gonna make it up to you, I promise, ok?" He then remembered that they were supposed to be on a date, so he added, "Ice cream later?" He placed a quick chaste kiss on her lips. He hoped his wife wouldn't kill him. "Take care."  
Tessa smiled slightly. Those two really loved each other, because they wouldn't be risking everything if they didn't. She only hoped her and her fiancée would be like them. "I'll talk to you later." She flicks her eyes back toward Brennan to make sure that she knew that she was included in that.  
Booth nodded his head, "Talk to you later."  
Brennan stood next to Angela. She found that when Booth acted like that, it showed how much he loved her. Which was just plain sexy. But of course she had to play along with their game. So her and Angela looked at each other as Booth turned around and then looked back at him and said in unison, "Awww!"  
Booth just looked at them unfazed. "Can we just stick to the business here? Thank you." He turned to Hall, "I'm gonna need a list of your employees, alright? We'll run it through the system, see if any one of 'em have a drug conviction." He then looked at his wife, "How long before you can ID him?"  
Brennan looked at Booth for a brief second hoping he saw how aroused she was, before she looked back at the mummy. "Well, I'm not at all tired so I'm sure I can stay up all night and work." She then spoke to Zach, "We have to be careful removing him. He's very dry and brittle." Brennan brushed away some cobwebs as she said in awe, "My first modern mummy."  
~BONES~  
Booth was driving his wife to the lab. He needed to talk with her. "Tessa's boyfriend proposed to her. She said yes, which means that we can't use her as a ploy. We have to make everyone believe that we broke up, soon."  
Brennan nodded her head. She heard what he was saying, it just that… "Booth, pull over."  
Booth looked over at his wife concerned. "Are you feeling sick, babe?" He pulled over and put that car into park. However before he could even turn to look at Brennan, she was already straddling him in his seat.  
Brennan began to kiss the column of his neck. "No, I'm not sick. I'm just extremely aroused by you, Booth." She kissed him with all her pent up arousal and ground her core onto his groin.  
Booth groaned loudly and started to reciprocate. Maybe his wife being high wasn't such a bad thing. Brennan started rocking her hips against his fully aroused self, loving the friction. She panted out, "Booth…Booth…Yes!"  
Booth felt like a teenager all over again, dry humping his girlfriend in his car. Except this was his extremely beautiful wife. If it was even possible, he got even more aroused by that thought, which caused him to thrust his hips up against her core. He groaned again with pleasure, "Bren, god you are amazing."  
He then captured her lips feverishly with his own and devoured her lips. All the while Brennan was getting closer and closer to the edge. This was one thing that she loved about them. Even without doing the deed they could satisfy each other. With one last thrust of her hips which was met by her husband's, her walls shattered. She groaned out huskily, "Seeley!"  
Booth held onto his wife as she came in front of him. After she came back down, he felt his wife's hand wrap around him over his jeans and squeeze. He groaned and thrust his hips forward, as his wife gave him a hand-job. "Bones, mmm, baby." He didn't know how she did it but she always knew how to make him cum for her. So with one last squeeze and a bite to his neck, he came.  
With both panting heavily, looking at each other, they both smiled softly at each other. Brennan spoke first, "That. Was. Amazing." She then leaned in a kissed Booth softly. "Thank you Seeley." Booth knew that when she said his first name, she was completely and utterly satisfied. She slowly started to move back into her own seat when she made the observation, "I'm a mess. I can't go into work like this."  
Booth chuckled softly. "Well babe, you should have thought of that before you started something."  
Brennan glared at him playfully. "Don't you have an extra pair of my clothes in the back? You can't go into work looking like that either, people will know what we did." She pointed down to the front of his jeans to emphasize her point.  
Booth looked down and shook his head. "Yes, I've got a change in the back for both of us." Yep, his wife was going to be the death of him.  
~BONES~  
Brennan, Angela and Hodgins were examining the mummy on the platform. Hodgins joked around a little. "Crystal meth is made from cold medicine, lye and the strike pads from matchbooks. The body was not designed to deal with that kind of assault."  
Brennan was starting to come down from both of her highs, the one from the meth and the one from her sensual husband. She definitely was enjoying the latter sensation, but not the throbbing headache from the drugs. "So I'm finding out."  
Hodgins offered, "Chamomile tea? It's very soothing."  
Brennan shook her head. Oh god, just the thought of that smell made her nauseous. "No, I just need your results."  
Hodgins smirked, "How about a stick to pry the monkey off your back?"  
Angela sat down by the computer, looking completely drained and out of it. "Are you sure you need me here?"  
Brennan glared at her slightly, "Payback for showing me the good life."  
Booth walked up on the platform and approached the group. "Ok, so how is my man, the Tut?"  
Brennan grabbed her head slightly, "In better shape than I am."  
Hodgins was enjoying this a little too much for Brennan's taste. "The meth found in his lungs and nasal passages matches the meth that juiced Angela and the good doctor here."  
Brennan grabbed the report out of his hands. "Can you please keep it clinical?"  
Booth looked at the body, "So, uh, he died of an overdose."  
Brennan went to open the report, but dropped some of the pages. Booth bent down to pick them up and gave them back to his wife. She should definitely never get high again. "Asphyxiation. Meth coated the alveoli in his lungs, making breathing impossible."  
Booth looked at the paper over her shoulder. "So, uh, he overdosed with his meth behind the wall."  
Hodgins pointed a small pen light at the mummy. "Well, the space was too narrow for him to squeeze through. He got stuck, the bag broke, and when he gasped for air he inhaled and died instantaneously."  
Brennan just wanted to go to sleep, but she explained how this man became a mummy, "The dry air convection behind the wall removed most of the moisture from his body."  
Booth winced slightly, "How long was he, uh, in there?"  
Hodgins told him, "Judging from the acrid mites in his ears, I'd say six weeks."  
Booth then noticed something very different with the body. He pointed to the body, "Hey, didn't he have hands?"  
~BONES~  
Brennan and Booth entered the testing room where the hand was inside a jar with liquid. Brennan explained what she was doing to her husband, "They're easier to work with dismembered. I've rehydrated them so we can get some fingerprints." She then opened the lid of the jar.  
Booth can't believe sometimes what his wife's job entails. "Off that?"  
Brennan nodded, "Sure." She then picked up the hand from the jar.  
Booth tried to make to think of anything else, so he asked his wife, "You've been to Costa Rica, right?"  
Brennan nodded her head, "I was flown down once. They found a human skull 12,000 years old." She continued to work with the hand, placing her hand underneath the skin. "Why?"  
Booth looked away while his wife did whatever she was doing with that hand. "Finally getting some vacation time. I was wondering if you wanted head off on Thursday. I heard Costa Rica was beautiful. I was also thinking of letting everyone think that I'm going with Tessa. Hopefully Angela will take the bait."  
Brennan smiled softly, "Yes. Fascinating wildlife, lots of parrots. And how do you know how Angela will react." She then pulled the skin off the hand.  
Booth frowned. "Angela is Angela. She'll find some way to make us feel uncomfortable. I don't like parrots, no. People should really, really do all the talking. You know, maybe we should…" He then looked at what his wife was doing, "Oh God! What are you doing?"  
Brennan placed her hand inside the removed skin. "Aztecs would slay people and then wear their skin as a bodysuit."  
Booth is just grossed out, "I guess you won't be needing mittens for Christmas, huh?"  
Brennan walked over to a machine and placed a finger on the glass. The machine beeped as it took the fingerprint. "Angela does seem like she wants us together. We should talk about the vacation later on, at home though. I don't want anyone to overhear us." Booth merely nodded, still slightly consorted by what just happened.  
~BONES~  
Booth sat at the desk in front of the computer screen that showed the fingerprint off the hand. Angela and Brennan approached him. When they came up to him Brennan asked, "Did the FBI find a match?"  
Booth leaned forward and clicked the mouse. "Yep, his name was Roy Taylor."  
Angela looked at the driver's license on the screen. "Roy Taylor? You're kidding! That's DJ Mount."  
Brennan looked at Angela confused, "I don't know who that is."  
Angela explained, "Mount is one of the best DJs in DC. He used to play at the club. Everyone was wondering what happened to him. His album's really gonna take off after this."  
~BONES~  
Brennan was sitting on her couch working as rap music played from her computer when Booth entered her office. He was wondering what his wife was up to and he was surprised to hear this type of music playing. "I never knew this side of you Bones."  
Brennan looked up at her husband and smiled a little. "It's DJ Mount."  
Booth couldn't believe his wife's head hadn't imploded yet. "You're hung over, doesn't this make your head explode?"  
Brennan shook her head. "I grabbed a couple of hours of sleep on my couch and showered in the lab's decontamination room."  
Booth shook his head. His wife was something else sometimes. "You really know how to live babe."  
Brennan looked at Booth confused slightly but decided against him clarifying himself. "Angela said rap artists sometimes kill each other over the music. Jam Master Jay, Tupac, Biggie."  
Booth laughed slightly, "Do you even know who you're talking about?"  
Brennan nodded, "Yeah, I've done my Googling."  
Booth chuckled at that idea, "Yeah."  
Brennan stood up and bobbed her head along with the beat as she said, "Listen…you can hear the alpha male asserting himself."  
Booth made some noises and mimicked the rapper, "Fill your ass up…with lead…always a nice lyric."  
Brennan went over to her desk annoyed at her husband. Maybe she was still a little hung over. "I'm heading back to the club to meet the FBI forensics team." She turned off the music, "I'm getting facts." She then left her husband standing in the middle of her office.  
~BONES~  
After leaving Rulz studio Booth tried bouncing ideas off his wife. "Ok, how about this? DJ Mount trusted Eve because they were sleeping together. So she meets him in the wall, takes the drugs, kills him for Rulz, then she takes off."  
Brennan was not impressed. She gave him a look and said sarcastically, "Hey, you should write fiction."  
Booth just looked at his wife and shrugged, "What? It's reasonable."  
Brennan shook her head. "It's not based on evidence, it's conjecture."  
Booth sighed. Did they have to go through this every time? "Look, I'm positing a scenario. We've been through this before."  
Brennan looked directly at him and smiled, "Yeah, and it always seems to be a waste of time. Now, finding a marker on a bone…"  
Booth looked right back. "No… you know, why don't we talk about our vacation? We need one."  
Brennan looked out the window. "Well, I'm not the one who's snippy."  
Booth snorted slightly, "Snippy? What are you, like 70?"  
Brennan pointed at him. "See what I mean? I think we should find a nice relaxing place to go on that vacation. Somewhere where you can get a massage, maybe do some yoga."  
Booth looked horrified. "I don't do yoga Bren. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups. That's what I do."  
Brennan tried to reason with him. "Yeah, that's more cardiovascular. Yoga deals more with…"  
Booth held up his hand. "Why exactly are we talking about yoga?"  
Brennan shrugged again. "Because you're tense, Booth."  
Booth looked forward. "Because we're talking about me doing yoga. Men don't do yoga Bren."  
She responded with, "Yoga is what helps me be very flexible. You appreciate my flexibility Booth."  
Booth looked at his wife. Why did she have to say things like that? "Bones…" He then turned on the radio to distract him. But instead of his favorite station coming on, some rap music started playing. "You switched my music." Brennan just looked the other way and bobbed her head with the beat.  
~BONES~  
After finding the second body Brennan, Zach and Hodgins were working on the platform around the remains. Zach was holding up x-rays of the teeth as he said, "Dental records confirm that this is Eve Warren."  
Hodgins informed Brennan, "Insect activity confirm she died around the same time DJ Mount did."  
Brennan looked around, wondering where her husband went. "Where did Booth go? I gotta give him the news."  
Hodgins looked up. "His girlfriend brought him a change of shirt."  
Zach pointed up, "They're up in the lounge."  
Brennan was confused at first when Hodgins said girlfriend, but then she remembered about Tessa. "Wha…Zach, clean the bones."  
Zach didn't know why he had to do this. "We've already got cause of death and identity. What am I looking for?"  
Brennan started to move away to go talk with Booth." It might be grasping but that odd mark we found on Mount's skull? See if you can find anything like it on Eve's remains."  
~BONES~  
Booth had called Tessa to bring him an extra shirt for two reasons. 1. He didn't have his extra one he kept in his SUV because of earlier the day before with his wife. And 2. So Angela could do her thing and make things uncomfortable for this "couple". That was exactly what she was doing, too. She was talking with Tessa and Booth. Booth and Brennan had decided on going to Jamaica. The honeymoon they never got. "Jamaica? God, that's incredible."  
Tessa wanted to laugh at Angela's endeavors to break them up. She really was a good friend to Brennan. She told Angela what her, Booth and Brennan talked about over the phone earlier that day. "Umm, it's a bed and breakfast. There are these coral cliffs."  
Booth stood by the couch as he changed his shirt when he added, "Snorkeling, kayaking."  
Angela smiled broadly. This was exactly what she needed to hear to plant the seed of doubt. "Oh, you two are so ready for the pre-shacking up test vacation."  
Booth wanted to laugh at how predictable Angela could be at times, but he played dumb. "What do you mean?"  
Angela elaborated, "You have keys to each other's places. You've done the weekend away a couple times. Yeah, it's time for the ten-day vacation. You know, Jamaica's like a dry run for living together only with rum punch and steel drums." Yep, seed planted. She left with a smile on her face.  
Tessa waited until Angela was out of ear shoot, when she let herself laughed. "Seeley, you really know how to put on a show. I mean living together? Silly."  
Booth chuckled at Angela's attempts. "Thanks for bringing me a shirt. Can you just drop this off back at my place, you know so everyone doesn't get suspicious." He then handed her the old shirt.  
Tessa smiled. "Yeah, ok. I'll talk to you and Brennan later."  
Booth nodded, "Yeah." He then leaned in and quickly kissed Tessa for show for the lab.  
Brennan approached them right as Tessa was beginning to leave. "Hi, Tessa."  
Tessa smiled warmly, "Hi Brennan. I gotta go, but I'll see you guys later. Bye."  
Brennan watched as her husband buttoned up his shirt. She loved helping him get dressed, especially tying his ties. She had to restrain herself from going up to him. "It's Eve Warren."  
Booth finished buttoning his shirt up. "Eve Warren. Ok, cause of death?"  
Brennan answered, "Same as Mount."  
Booth nodded his head. This wasn't good. "Meth overdose."  
Brennan nodded. "Pushed in the face, but there's more. I don't think that Rulz killed her."  
Booth was surprised to hear that. "She was buried under his studio."  
Brennan knew that, however… "But her wrist was broken."  
~BONES~  
Booth and Brennan walked up the stairs to the platform. Booth tried out one scenario, "How about this? Hall's got motive to kill Mount. Why? Because he's jumping labels, and he's running away with some girl who's stealing Hall's meth and money."  
Brennan donned surgical gloves as she prepared to exam the bones again. "I'm starting to see how this whole motive thing works."  
Booth smiled. He loved it when he could help his wife see the logic of going with your gut. "Thank you."  
Brennan added, "It's still murky psychological guesswork though."  
Zach called out to Brennan, "Dr. Brennan, I found a mark on Eve Warren. Here, on the manubrium."  
Brennan had an idea. "Compare it to the mark on Mount."  
Booth continues with his scenario. "Ok, Eve tells Mount that she wants to start a new life, so she rips off the dope and the cash thinking she can build a new future with him."  
Brennan can't accept that. "That's a story, Booth. You need to find something real."  
Booth looked at his wife and tried to make her see what he saw. "But why? It feels real to me. I mean, Eve is a woman in love who is trying to escape a world that's just crushing her. Hmm? All right, Mount finds out how much trouble the woman he's in love with is in, so he gives up his own life to protect her. That's not enough. They were hoping for a better life, and they wound up dead." Booth could see that Brennan now saw what he saw.  
Zach pulled up the two images and compared them. "Looks like a match."  
Brennan walked over to the computer and looked at the images. "Thanks, good job."  
Booth looked at the two pictures. "What the hell's that?"  
Brennan honestly didn't know. "I'm not sure, it's a bone dimple. But they both have it, so it can't be genetic. Something external caused it, but I'm not sure what."  
Booth slammed his hand on the table. "Randall Hall, he's behind this. Randall Hall, ok? He killed these two people. We know it, he did it. We just can't touch him, and there's no evidence linking him to the drugs, the cash or either body except for a couple of damn bone dimples."  
Brennan could see that this was starting to really get to her husband. "I'll keep looking at the remains, maybe find the evidence we need."  
Booth shook his head. "I can't let it stand."  
Brennan looked up at him confused. "What?"  
Booth was getting really upset now. He hated that he couldn't do anything. "You know what? I'm gonna spread the pain, all right? That's my new motto." He then started to leave.  
Brennan didn't know what he meant by that but she wanted to help him out. "Wait, I can help spread pain. Wait!"  
~BONES~  
As Hodgins helped Zach put on a vest, Angela and Brennan talked. "Get this. I called Tessa to tell her a couple places she should check out in Jamaica. She's not going."  
Brennan knew the story, since they had planned it this way. "What happened?"  
Angela smiled broadly. She now made an opening for her best friend. "Well, she said something came up at work, but I know the truth."  
Hodgins turned toward Brennan. "How many times you want me to poke Zack?"  
Brennan wanted to hear this 'truth' that Angela was talking about. "Just once, but as hard as you can."  
Zach didn't like how that sounded. "As hard as he can? Why don't I hit him as hard as I can?"  
Hodgins couldn't resist to mess with Zach. "Because you have arms like noodles, while I'm vigorous and burly."  
Brennan turned back to Angela to get the answer, "What truth?"  
Angela smirked. "They got freaked out by stage six."  
Brennan was not expecting that. "What's…what's stage six?"  
Angela listed them out. "One, spend the night. Two, spend the weekend. Three, exchange keys. Four, sexy weekend getaway. Five, extended vacation, inevitably followed by six—move in together."  
Brennan shook her head. "I'm an anthropologist. I know the stages of everything, you made those up."  
Angela barked out a laugh. "I did not."  
Brennan smiled a little and chuckled, "Yes, you did."  
Angela insisted that she was right. "They got to stage five, and they balked."  
Brennan couldn't help but defend her husband's loyalty. "Not Booth, Booth did not balk."  
Angela smiled sadly at her friend's 'naïveté'. "Sweetie, it's always the guy."  
Brennan shook her head. Not her Booth. "Booth is not a balker."  
~BONES~  
Booth sat at the bar in Wong Foo's waiting for his wife. He had a red tropical drink with a paper umbrella sticking out of it. The television had the news on, "Here's what we know so far. Evidence linking rap producer Randall Hall with the death of rising hip-hop star Deejay Mount led to charges being filed today by the district attorney. Information coming to us slowly at this point but as soon as details…" Booth turned off the TV. He really didn't want to hear about that case again.  
Brennan smiled warmly at Booth. She had changed into a flowing sundress. She was actually excited about their vacation. She walked over to Booth and sat down next to him. "Getting yourself in the mood?"  
Booth smiled as he played with the umbrella and ate the pineapple slice. "Trying. You know, this really isn't gonna be the type of vacation I was hoping for."  
Brennan raised her eyebrow. "Oh?"  
Booth nodded, "Yeah, you see. I wanted to spend a whole week with my wife in Jamaica, but she says she has to be back by Monday. It's such a shame. I was planning this whole romantic getaway, you know, the honeymoon we never took." He then took a sip from his drink trying to conceal his smile.  
Brennan chuckled, "That's too bad. At least, you guys get to go on your honeymoon for four days. That's four days of just the two of you alone, in a seclude bed and breakfast, only leaving the room for necessary reasons."  
Booth inched closer to his wife, forgetting about his drink. "Oh, really."  
Brennan nodded her head and then threw him a seductive smile. "Sure, nothing wrong with spending your honeymoon like if it really was your honeymoon."  
Booth wrapped his arm around Brennan's waist. "That does sound nice."  
Brennan leaned in toward her husband. "Yeah, it sounds real nice."  
Booth couldn't stand it anymore, so he leaned in the rest of the way and kissed his wife. After the need for air became necessary, Booth broke the kiss and whispered, "I love you Temperance Brennan-Booth."  
Brennan brought her hand up to Booth's cheek and softly caressed it. "And I love you, my husband, Seeley Booth. Even though we may not agree on everything, even when I question your process, even when I start to question the possibility of forever, know that I love you. I married you, Seeley Booth, and I don't regret it one bit. I wouldn't change anything about my life. You make me whole, even though that is completely irrational. You make me feel complete."  
Booth rested his forehead against Brennan's and whispered, "And I married you, Temperance Brennan, and I will never regret it. You are my better half. I would be lost without you Bones. You, my wife, my love, you are the only one for me. If I were to go on this vacation alone I would think about not coming back."  
Brennan leaned back a little, surprised. "Seriously?"Booth nodded.

"Yeah, you know, you go with someone you love, you joke about not going back to your real life and the two of you laugh. But when you're alone, the world is full of possibilities."  
Brennan placed her hand at the back of Booth's neck and squeezed it gently. "Well, thankfully you have me to come back home to. And I have you. Now, come on. If we don't leave now we're going to miss our flight. And I really, really would like to have a honeymoon."  
Booth smiled broadly and slipped on his jacket. "Okay Bones. Let's get going." He then placed his hand on the small of her back and led her out of Wong Foo's. This was going to be the best honeymoon ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Question: Do you guys want a .5 chapter for this? It's really up to you. Let me know!
> 
> A/N2: Oh and the reason why this chapter doesn't have any spaces is because I'm posting this chapter on my phone


	7. Chapter 7 – A Man on Death Row

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm soooo sorry for not updating this story sooner I didn't have a laptop at the time but now I do, so I'll post more now that I have a laptop now.

**Chapter 7 – A Man on Death Row**

Booth sat across from Bones in the interrogation room. He was enjoying himself a little too much probably with this situation. "Name?"

Brennan looked at him exasperated. "You know my name."

Booth shot her his charm smile. "Bones, you are making an official request to the FBI to be allowed to carry a concealed weapon. I have to follow protocol."

Brennan huffed a little, "It's ridiculous."

Booth shrugged his shoulders. He would do anything for his wife, but he had to go by the book on this one. "Fine, then we're done here. Do you wanna get some coffee…?"

Brennan rolled her eyes at Booth's response. "My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan-Booth."

Booth had almost forgotten that she had officially changed her last name. Damn, what was he going to do about that? "I'm just going to put down, Dr. Temperance Brennan. Reason for wanting a gun?"

Brennan gave him a deadpan stare. "To shoot people."

Booth smirked and shook his head, "Not a good response."

Brennan sighed, "It's the truth."

Booth nearly glared at her. Did she have to be so difficult? "You know, I'm writing 'self-defense in the performance of my duties pursuing suspected felons as contracted out to the FBI.'"

Brennan added, "So I can shoot them."

Booth shot her a glare as he asked, "Ever been charged with a felony?"

Brennan huffed, "Charged, or convicted?"

Booth sighed. He needed to follow protocol. "Charged."

Brennan was the one to glare at him now. "You know I have."

Booth gave her another look, "I have to ask the questions."

Brennan mumbled under her breath, "Bureaucratic nonsense."

Booth looked down as he said, "Nevertheless, the name of the arresting officer?"

Brennan was getting mad now. "You… " When he looked up at her exasperated she sighed, "Special Agent Seeley Booth. Do you need me to spell that for you?"

Booth could have just laughed at that, but said, "I can sound that out."

Brenna sat up straighter, eager. "So when do I get the gun?"

Booth sighed heavily as he grabbed the stamp. He pressed down and stamped the word 'DENIED' in red across the form. He held it up for Brennan to see, "You can't have a gun." He may have said that a little too happily.

Brennan couldn't believe Booth would deny her a gun. "Wha…Why not?"

Booth explained short and sweetly, "Because you were charged with a felony."

No this was not right. Brennan wanted a gun. "Write down that you were wrong to charge me."

Booth was not going to let his wife have a gun. "Oh, there's no space for that."

That's when it dawned on Brennan that Booth was never going to… "Why'd we go through all of this if you were never going to give me a gun?"

Booth threw her his charm smile. "You have a constitutional right to apply for a weapon. I would never deny your constitutional right."

Brennan couldn't believe him. "But I need a gun!"

Booth tried his hardest to keep a straight face. "Rules are rules."

Brennan tapped her finger incessantly on the form. "Tell them that I shot a murderer who was going to light me on fire."

Booth was having an extremely hard time not cracking a smile at how persistent his wife was. "Which is why you weren't convicted. But you did shoot an unarmed man. I… I can't ignore that. I swore an oath to protect society from people who shoot people."

Brennan just wanted to strangle him. "It was only his leg, and he's in jail for the rest of his life, how much is he gonna use it anyway?"

Booth decided to throw her a small breadcrumb. "You have the right to an appeal."

Brennan liked the sound of that. "To whom?" Booth just shakes his head ever so slightly because he doesn't trust himself not to laugh. Brennan doesn't believe it! "Cullen?" Booth nods his head and gives her an 'innocent' look. Brennan knew now that she was never going to get a gun, "I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me."

Booth couldn't help the small smile come across his face as he said, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right." As they left the room Booth tried to lift her spirits up, "Bones, you don't need a gun. If anyone needs shooting, I'll do it."

Brennan thought of some scenarios. "What if you're injured or dead, and someone still needs shooting?" At Booth's look, she added quickly, "Well, I'm not hoping it'll happen, I'm just stating a possibility."

Booth just wanted to end this conversation. "Come on, you know what, Bones? You're a professor; you're not an FBI agent. Use your mutant powers… just talk people to death." As Booth turned he just wanted to groan.

Amy Morton smiles sweetly at Booth, amused. "Am I interrupting?"

Booth brought his hands to his waist and sighed loudly, "I told them not to let you in this building. I gave them your picture."

Amy raised an eyebrow and said smartly, "Which is why I wore the tiny skirt."

Booth glared at her slightly and said as he passed her to get to his desk, "Very cute."

Amy extended her hand at Brennan when she entered the room, "Amy Morton."

Brennan shook her hand as she shot Booth a worried look. She knew who Amy was. "Temperance Brennan."

Amy chatted her up. "You work with Booth?"

Brennan looked away from her trying to hide her own disdain. "Yes, I'm a forensic anthropologist."

Amy smirked, "I'm a defense lawyer. I tend to work against Booth."

Booth didn't like Amy chatting with Bones. He grabbed a file off his desk as he said, "If it's all the same, I'd prefer you two didn't bond in any way."

Brennan didn't want to either, so she told Booth. "Hey, I want to get back to the lab. You said I could fill out some gun reapplication forms."

Booth looked through one of his files and grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to her. "Yeah. Send it back by courier." He walked her to the door with his hand on the small of her back. This conversation with Amy was not going to end well her knew it. He told Brennan, "No hurry."

Brennan looked back at Amy as she left and offered tightly, "Nice to meet you." That's his Bones.

~BONES~

Angela walked over to Brennan and asked, "Sure you don't want to come? Troy can call a friend."

Brennan almost snorted at that, but then she remembered Angela didn't know about Booth. "I've been waiting months for these. It's a partial skeleton from southern France. The Institute…"

Angela just stared at her blankly, "You know, the whole point of the week is the weekend. This is not the cabaret, my friend. Life is the cabaret. Come to the cabaret." Brennan gives her a confused look. "It's like describing the moon to a mole." She rolls her eyes and started to walk away.

At that moment Booth walked in, in search of Bones. "Mmm. Angela, looking good."

Angela smiled broadly at him as she shot back, "And don't I know it."

Booth than saw what Hodgins and Zach were doing, "Okay, our tax dollars hard at work. "

Hodgins shots him a glare, "Yeah, what's break time at the FBI? Book burning?" Booth had two options, ignore him or… He placed the beaker over one of the beetles in hopes it was his. By Hodgins exclamation, "No!" he guessed right.

Booth came up to Brennan and asked honestly, "Hey Bones, what are you doing this weekend?" They hadn't made any definite plans to do anything, so hopefully…

Brennan looked up surprised at his question. "I have plans."

Booth looked at her surprised. Really? "Come on, I'm serious."

Brennan looked over at Hodgins and Zach and then gave Booth a look to play along. She really was getting quite good at her acting skills. "Between your girlfriend, the corporate lawyer and the defense lawyer on the side, your weekend must be completely booked. What is your thing with lawyers?" Brennan had started to walk toward her office to provide them with some privacy.

Booth just straight into the reason he was there. "Look, you know seven years ago a 17-year-old girl, April Wright, was found beaten to death in a federal park. Amy's just trying to stop the guy who did it from being executed. "

Brennan looked around slightly and saw that people were still around them. So she tried to not sound knowledgeable about what Booth was saying, "So I guess we're not pursuing your lawyer obsession?"

Booth sighed, "No, Amy doesn't think he did it."

Brennan looked back and whispered softly, affectionately, "And what does this have to do with you, Booth? You closed that case."

Booth snorted, "Oh, well, if Amy's client is deep-sixed and she doesn't turn over every stone…"

Brennan nodded her slightly, now understanding. "And you're one of her stones." They walked into her office and she sat down before she gave Booth a good look. "Do you still think he did it?"

Without even having to think about it Booth answered a solid, "Yes."

Brennan nodded her head. Good, at least he didn't doubt himself. "What's her reasoning?"

Booth had never really gone into detail about this case just that this son of a bitch deserved to die. "There was a pubic hair that wasn't accounted for. "

Brennan looked at him confused. "Pubic hair? Sounds like a job for the FBI crime lab." So why was he here?

Booth didn't know why he came here either. Maybe he was doubting… "It's a weekend deal. Off the books. But if you have plans…"

He was retreating and Brennan knew it. "Wait. This is a personal favor you're asking? Why?"

Booth wasn't sure what he was asking anymore. Why was he even doing this? "Not for me, for Amy."

Brennan knew that would lure him in. "Well, your personal favorite would be for Amy, but mine would be for you, strictly speaking."

Booth walked back up to her desk and asked softly. He needed to reaffirm his stance. "Please do me a favor. Please?"

Brennan looked into his eyes and saw his inner struggle. He needed this and she was willing to give it. She'd do anything for him. She silently asked for him to pass her the file. As she flipped through it she asked, "Any remains withheld from burial?"

Booth shook his head, "Not after the last appeal."

Brennan nodded slowly as she studied his face a little bit longer. Okay, she was going to do this. "I'd need x-rays from the ME and the coroner. Originals, the copies are useless. Bone scrapings, lab results, tox screens."

Booth smiled slightly at her, thanking her silently, "All the evidence will be here within an hour."

Brennan looked back at the file and said, "I'll ask the others, but I won't order them. They might have plans."

Booth wanted to roll his eyes at that idea. "It's Friday night, and they're racing beetles."

Brennan looked at him again at the sound in his voice. He really needed this. "How much time do we have?"

Booth looked down at his watch and said, "Howard Epps will be executed in 30 hours and 23 minutes."

~BONES~

Booth looked at Brennan in shock almost, "That was April Wright's father.

Brennan looked up immediately, worried, "A murder victim's dad called you?"

Booth rubbed the back of his neck as he nodded, "His wife's a wreck. They heard that Amy's angling for the last minute reprieve."

Hodgins came up to them and asked Booth, "Why did he call you?"

Brennan answered without thinking, "Because Booth was the agent that arrested Howard Epps in the first place."

Booth looked at her in terror. They needed to cover this up. So he told her giving her a look of apprehension, "You know, I'm pretty sure that that evidence is not in the file."

Brennan's eyes grew slightly wide at what Booth said. Crap, she slipped. She thought fast on her feet and said, "Earlier you said 'it's a phone number that we found on the girl.'"

Hodgins completely missed their scramble to cover themselves when he heard that Booth was the arresting officer. He laughed as he said, "Wait. You're trying to save someone you arrested for murder?"

Booth finally spoke his worst fear. "Alright, you know, I think he did it. I think this scumbag bashed April Wright to death with a tire iron." There it was out, now all he had to do was prove to himself again that he was right.

Brennan looked at Booth with concern. She didn't like it when he doubted himself. It was unlike him. She spoke softly, "Booth, we've found some anomalies in the prosecution's case. Do you want us to stop now before these anomalies become meaningful?"

Booth shook his head. No, he needed the truth. "No. Stay on it. I gotta get going."

~BONES~

Brennan didn't like that it looked like she was building a case against Booth. She wanted the truth, but she didn't want to hurt Booth in the process either. She also didn't like this Amy person. Which was why she was surprised when Amy suddenly asked, "So, are you seeing each other?"

Brennan continued to stare out her window. "Who?"

Amy looked over at Brennan amused. "You and Booth."

Brennan was shocked, to say the least that Amy picked that up. "No." She snorted, trying to play it cool like a pickle. "No, we're working together."

Amy looked over at her and tried to hide her smile, "Cause I'm picking up a bit of a sex vibe."

Brennan breathed out a sigh of relief and lied smoothly, "No, that's tension. He has a girlfriend."

Amy sighed wistfully, "Tall, blonde, beautiful?"

Brennan smiled to herself, happy that Booth had thought of this lie. Even though technically no one else knew that Tessa was out of the picture. "A lawyer."

Amy nodded slightly, "Figures." She smiled at the next words she said, "Should've jumped him when I had the chance."

Brennan couldn't help the irrational tinge of triumph that she had Booth and no one else, when she asked, "You're really interested in Booth?"

Amy looked at her in surprise. "You aren't?"

Brennan answered quickly, resolutely, "No."

Amy didn't get it. If she wasn't interested… "Well, then why are you helping him?"

Brennan answered with a half-truth. "Because he asked me. He said please."

Amy laughed at that. "Come on. You think he's hot."

Brennan had a harder time denying that one because Booth was definitely very appealing. "No. Not at all. This is a very interesting case."

Amy looked at her for a second and then nodded, "Booth did say you had some kind of mania for the truth."

Brennan did not like her being described like that, especially by her husband. "Mania? As in maniac?"

Amy tried to cover her tracks, "I'm not sure he meant it as a bad thing. Which obviously is how you're taking it."

~BONES~

Amy walked up to Booth and almost whispered, "If you tell the judge you've changed your mind, that Howard Epps is not guilty…"

Brennan turned around in concern. Had Booth really… "Have you changed your mind?"

Booth shook his head, "No. I have doubts that the guy should be executed, but… " He just looked at Bones and decided, "Let's go see the judge." He needed the whole truth, just as Brennan taught him.

Brennan, on the other hand, couldn't believe what she just heard. She hoped she was wrong because that meant Booth was doubting himself. And she didn't like that idea.

~BONES~

Judge Cohen turned to Booth and asked, "Agent Booth. Have you suddenly decided that Howard Epps is not guilty?"

Booth shook his head. "No."

Amy couldn't believe him. "Booth!"

Booth looked at Amy and then back at the judge seriously, "I think there are doubts, and when it comes to an execution, there shouldn't be any doubts."

Carlyle snorted, "He doesn't have doubts, he has cold feet. "

Booth glared at the attorney, "You think I won't pop you one just because we're standing in the judge's kitchen?" Brennan looked at Booth in shock. This case was really starting to get to him. Booth just smiled in return. That felt good to say.

Cohen pointed at Booth. "You see? You lose sleep, you get cranky. Judgment suffers. It's not enough."

Amy didn't give up though, "Your Honour, you can't dismiss this so easily."

Cohen was enraged by that, "Easily? I allowed you to exhume that girl's remains. Do you think I did that easily? We all feel the weight of a capital case, Ms. Morton, but the law is clear. Unless there is proof of grievous incompetence by counsel, or a denial of legitimate and definitive factual certainties, my hands are tied."

~BONES~

Booth was driving his SUV back to drop off Amy when she said, "I'll go out to the prison and tell Epps."

Brennan wasn't doing this for Amy, "I'll take another look at the skull, see if we didn't miss something."

Booth looked back and tried to stop her. It was over they wouldn't get the poof. "Bones…"

Brennan shook her head. "The particulates in the skull still haven't been analyzed yet." She knew Booth needed to be 100% sure of this or it would be on his conscious the rest of his life. She knew him.

Amy sighed angrily, "This is so barbaric. When are they gonna put a stop to the damn death penalty?"

Brennan sat back a said softly, "I believe in the death penalty."

Amy didn't believe her ears. "What?"

Brennan leaned forward a little, emotional. "There are certain people that shouldn't be in this world. The people who hacked hundreds of innocent children to death in Rwanda beheaded them at their desks at school. The people who did that? They should be executed."

Amy was shocked a little. "So why do you care about Epps?"

Brennan didn't care per se, "Because the facts have to add up. Drop me at the lab, please." Booth smiled slightly at Bones. That was his girl, always searching for the truth.

~BONES~

Cullen looked at one of his best FBI Agents and asked, "He admits to having sex with her?"

Booth sat on the table right next to Bones. He needed to be near her, he needed her support because this was getting to him. "Yes, sir."

Cullen asked, "Did he kill her?"

Booth answered honestly, "Well he's either telling the truth, or he's setting up his defense." But he didn't think he killed her.

Cullen paced slowly, "So April Wright met David Ross for a sexual liaison. He took her to a second, unknown location, beat her to death, and deposited the body back at the park. That's sketchy."

Brennan jumped in, "Which is why we have to find the murder weapon."

Cullen sat down and said in disbelief, "Find a tire iron in a marsh after seven years? That's a long shot."

Booth needed this and that was enough for Brennan to fight for this, even against a man that didn't like her. "That's why we need metal detectors and GPR."

Booth just wanted to kiss his wife. She became so passionate when she was trying to do the right thing, bring justice. "And a dozen or so agents, sir."

Cullen looked at the two for a few seconds before he said, "And if you find this tire iron, you can positively identify it as the murder weapon?"

Brennan nodded, "It's possible we can match the traces we found in April's skull."

Cullen looked at her blankly, "Possible? No. Howard Epps' lawyer should present this argument to the judge and let him decide." Brennan couldn't believe this. Couldn't Cullen see that booth needed to finish this? He needed to tie up the loose ends.

Booth shook his head and looked away. Cullen wasn't going to budge. "Sir, without the murder weapon, he will not stay the execution."

Cullen knew that this was hard on his agent; it would be hard on any good agent. "Way out on a limb here, Booth."

Brennan couldn't take it anymore. "He's just trying to find the truth. Why should he be penalized for…?" Cullen sent her a look that shut her up.

Cullen looked between the two people sitting in front of him. She was fighting for his agent. Why would she do that? Cullen didn't know, but he had his suspicions, so he sighed and said, "Take the equipment and the men you need."

Booth felt a jolt of joy at Cullen's words. He stood up immediately and wrapped his hands around Brennan's shoulders, standing her up as he said, "Thank you, sir."

Cullen spun around after standing. He had a clause though, "She can't have a gun."

Booth nodded, "No gun. Absolutely not. No gun. Thank you, sir." He led Bones out of the room and toward the elevators. The elevator doors opened and allowed them entrance. Thankfully they were the only ones in there.

Once the doors slid shut, Booth came up to Brennan and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. After some seconds of them kissing passed, Booth pulled away and rested his forehead against her own. He smiled at her and whispered, "Thank you Bones."

Brennan looked at him in confusion, "For what?"

"For fighting for me. I know you know how much I need this. I can see it in your eyes. Thank you. I don't know how I'll ever make this up to you." Booth kissed her again softly.

This time Brennan pulled away to whisper, "Your welcome Booth. That's what partners do for each other." She kissed him gently before saying, "I just want you to have no regrets, no doubts. I don't like seeing you upset like this." She then gave him a sultry look and whispered, "And I can think of a few ways for you to make it up to me."

Booth chuckled and kissed Brennan again, but he had to pull away quickly because he heard the elevator ding, indicating their arrival downstairs. He and Brennan shared a look and a secret smile as they exited the elevators, their fingers grazing each other ever so slightly.

~BONES~

Brennan began digging gently when she looked up and saw that Booth wasn't helping her, "Are you gonna help?"

Booth smiled weakly, "Well I would, but this is a $1200 suit."

Brennan couldn't believe how her husband was acting. But then she saw the look in his eyes, he was nervous. She needed to push him, just like he had pushed her when she was scared or nervous. "Are you kidding me, Booth? I haven't slept in 48 hours and you're worried about your suit? I'll buy you a new one. Get over here."

Booth started to take off his suit jacket and said, "Fine. Can I get a shovel?" An agent handed him one and he murmured, "Thanks." Booth started to dig half-heartedly.

Brennan looked up and said softly, "Dig gently Booth. Small layers at a time." After a moment of silence, Brennan said almost whispering, "What plans did you have?"

Booth looked at her confused, "What?"

Brennan expounded, "If it were a normal weekend."

Booth shot her a look and whispered yelled, "You want to discuss this now?"

Brennan looked at him and he saw something in her eyes. "What would you be doing Booth? I mean, everyone thinks that you have multiple sex partners…"

And that's when Booth understood what he saw. She was scared because of how he was reacting to this case. He doubted himself, which is something he rarely ever does. And now she doubted herself. She started dusting something off when he whispered, "Bren, that's just what we make everyone else believe, you know that. I have never ever cheated on any woman that I've ever been with. Never. I would never cheat on you Temperance. Don't doubt that. Just because I have doubts about this case, doesn't mean I have doubts about us. I would never have doubts about us."

Brennan looked up relief flooding her eyes because she had been having doubts. She didn't want to, but her rational side took over with great force when it came to their relationship sometimes. She just needed to reaffirm her beliefs, like Booth needed his. "I know, Booth. Thank you."

Booth kept digging and whispered back to her, "I'd probably take you out to see a movie, I know there was a drive-thru that was playing The Mummy. Or to that jazz club we like, to just dance." He saw Brennan smile softly at his words out of the corner of his eye. He looked and saw the smile fall as she picked up a skull and showed it to him. He looked down where he was digging and scooped out one last bit of dirt and saw another skull, "Okay, what the hell's going on here?"

~BONES~

Booth couldn't believe this. "We got played."

Brennan looked at him confused, "What? How?"

Booth watch Bones sit down tiredly as he explained, "Either way, Epps wins. We find Ross, the execution is stopped. We find these bodies… "

Brennan now saw it. "The execution stays until these murders are investigated." She let out a deep sigh. This was not good. They found the truth but…

Booth and Brennan stared into each others' eyes. Booth said as he held his phone, "If I don't make this call, he's gonna be dead in half an hour."

That sounded so tempting to both of them. However, Brennan looked back at the remains and she knew that wasn't right. "But these women, they deserve to be heard." Booth knew that, but goddamnit he wanted this bastard dead. Brennan spoke softly when she said, "It's what we do, Booth. The rest…"

That made Booth smile. He knew what she was going to say. "Lawyers."

Brennan smiled right back at him. "Lawyers."

Booth nodded his head once and started dialing the phone number, "Amy, its Booth. I think we got you your stay of execution, but you're not gonna like it much." Brennan looked at him, sad. They got their justice. But somehow it didn't feel like it.

~BONES~

Sid walked up to the couple and saw how they looked, "What's the matter with you two?"

Booth took a sip of his drink and answered, "Bad day at work."

Sid shook his head. Would they ever learn? "Well, that's what you get for working on weekends. You ever hear about taking some time off, having a little fun?"

Brennan smiled as she leaned into Booth's side, looking up at Sid asking, "Why, what'd you do?"

Sid snorted, "I'd be breaking about six different laws if I just told you how I maneuvered on my Saturday nights." All three laughed softly at that. Sid shook his head and told them, "But I will bring you some food."

Brennan shook her head. "I'm not hungry, Sid."

Sid gave her a look which caused both Booth and her to laugh again. "No use arguing with Sid, Bones."

Brennan looked up after taking a sip of her wine at Booth, "Are you in trouble with your boss?"

Booth moaned softly and rubbed his eyes. Was he ever. He brought his arm up and wrapped it around her shoulder and apologized, "I'm sorry for wrecking your weekend for nothing."

Brennan placed her head on his shoulder and entwined their fingers as she said, "No, not for nothing. "

Booth looked down at her and whispered, "Come on, you know what I mean Bren. You know, all that running around, it didn't change anything. Epps was guilty. He was always guilty."

Brennan squeezed his hand. "There was doubt. We had an obligation to respect that doubt. We all share in the death of every human being."

Booth smiled softly at that. "Very poetic, babe."

Brennan shook her head, "No, very literal. We all share DNA. When I look at a bone, it's not some artifact that I can separate from myself. It's a part of a person who got here the same way I did. It should never be easy to take someone's life. I don't care who it is." Brennan looked up to see Booth looking at her in awe, a slow smile spreading on his face. "What?" When he didn't answer and the smile grew some more she smiled back and asked again, "What?"

Booth snorted softly, "You know, you've been practicing your Nobel Prize speech just a little too much." Brennan smacked him on his chest and laughed softly. He brought her closer and kissed her on the top of her head and said softly, "God, I love you Bones."

Sid came out and smiled at his friends. "Scallops in Szechwan sauce, duck fried rice." A waitress placed it in front of Brennan and Sid placed Booth's food in front of him, "Apple pie, hot cup of joe." The couple smiled at Sid as they looked down to see exactly what they wanted. Sid raised his glass and toasted, "Too simple pleasures, my friends. Simple pleasures." All three of them toasted, smiling at each other.

Simple pleasures, indeed.


	8. Chapter 8 – The Girl in the Fridge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two chapter in a row

**Chapter 8 – The Girl in the Fridge**

Zach slowly brought down his attempt at a 'fist bump', when Angela smiled, amused at what she was seeing, "I love it when you two impersonate earthlings."

Hodgins walked in carrying a box. This was an extremely abnormal start to his day, "Okay, now this is weird. There's some guy in the lounge who asked me to give you this." He handed it over to Brennan from across the table.

Angela perked up when she heard the word 'some guy' and saw the box. "Is he alive? Because this is an excellent start to a relationship."

Hodgins smiled, "I didn't put a mirror underneath his nose or anything." He then looked at Brennan and told her, "He said you'd know who he was when you opened it."

Brennan opened the package and pulled out a mini-Dust-buster. She paused, looking at the 'gift', trying to think of who would send her such an outrageous thing, when she remembered. She shoved the box at Zach and hurried out of the room to see if she was right. If she was, this was not good.

~BONES~

Brennan walked toward the upper lounge, stopped and looked up to see Michael. He was leaning against the railing when he called out to her, "You left it at my place."

Brennan couldn't believe that he actually stopped by to just drop that thing off to her, "Three years ago."

Michael tried to play that off. "Hmm. First time I've been in Washington. I thought I should return it in person."

Brennan didn't like having an unexpected guest, especially the ones she needed to prepare for. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Michael shrugged, "What if you didn't take my call? You're a big important author now."

Brennan, at that moment, thought of an excellent idea. Booth and she had been worried about the others finding out, so why not give them something to throw them off their tracks. This could definitely work to their advantage. "You can come down here, you know."

Michael smirked, "You could come up."

Brennan tried to make herself look happy to see him, giving him a half smile and then said, "Halfway."

Michael shook his head and laughed softly, "As always."

Michael came down the stairs while Brennan walked toward him. She said to him while walking, "I hope you don't have any expectations."

Michael asked back, "Do you?"

Brennan answered honestly, "Civility?" They, after all, didn't end their relationship (if you could call it that) well at the end.

Michael nodded in agreement, "I can handle that."

Brennan plastered on a smile, obviously trying to look happy to see him. "So why are you here?"

Michael told her, "George Washington University wants to talk to me about heading their Anthropology Department."

Brennan had give props were they were due, so she said to him, "They'd be lucky to get you."

Michael said with a hint of disdain in his voice, "I assumed they tried you first."

Brennan – never one to be modest – said honestly and proudly, "I already had a job."

They talked a little bit more when Brennan had an idea, "It seems like we should have dinner tonight, catch up?"

Michael smiled slightly. That was just what he wanted, "Sounds reasonable."

Booth walked into the lab looking for Bones. He decided the fast way of getting her attention was to yell, "Hey Bones!" Brennan turned her head to see Booth walking behind a rusted refrigerator that was being hauled by an FBI technician. "Whoa! Okay. Put it here. Easy." He started to turn toward Brennan when he continued, "Bones, I got a present for ya. Straight out of an illegal ravine on a dump in Fairfax." Brennan walked around Booth to stand in front of the refrigerator, "You see, our forensic people confirmed it was human matter. So, rather than open it myself and risk being trashed by you for contaminating the evidence, I decided to bring the whole refrigerator to you." He smiled at her wondering what Michael was doing there.

Booth heard Hodgins murmur, "What we need is a toaster oven."

He glared at him slightly and cleared his throat, "Bones?"

Brennan walked up to the fridge and sniffed around the door. "The body's going to be mostly decomposed."

Angela made a sound of disgust, "Which is my cue to leave."

She was walking away when Michael said, "This is where it gets fun."

Brennan stepped back and motioned at Booth, "All right, you can open it."

Booth nodded his head, "All right." He pried open the fridge door with a crowbar. Inside were the partially liquefied remains of a decomposing skeleton. Booth stepped back as Brennan moved closer. "Whoa, okay. Uh, he or she?"

Brennan knelt down. "She."

Michael added his observations, "Late teens, early 20s."

Brennan told Booth, "I'm guessing she's been in the refrigerator for a year." She looked back at Hodgins and asked, "Is there enough insect activity to help us be more precise?"

Hodgins swabbed the corpse and said, "There's always enough insect activity."

Brennan nodded her head. She hoped Booth wouldn't get mad at the next thing she was going to say. "Remove and clean the bones, Zack. Michael, you can pick me up at 7:30. I'll give you my address." Brennan stood up and started to walk away, not waiting to see Booth's reaction. She would explain it to him later.

Michael gave the corpse one last look before he said, "Beautiful lab."

Michael walked away, following Brennan when she said, "Thanks."

Booth watched the two of them interact and didn't know what to think. He knew that Michael had been Brennan's old boyfriend before they had been together (and he convinced Brennan that a monogamist relationship was good, that had been tough on both of them.) But was she really just going to pick up with him where they left off. There had to be another explanation. Booth then realized that the squints were still there so he asked, "Old friend?"

Hodgins nodded, "Old teacher."

Booth looked back at Brennan's retreating form. "Yeah." He sighed at the sight of Michael trying to get handsy with Bones. Then it registered that Brennan said that the two of them were going to have dinner. "They're actually going to, uh, eat dinner after seeing this? Well, I hope it's not soup." He tried to joke about it but it was only half-hearted. He knew Brennan loved him. Their relationship was strong, but she had told him that she was a scientist at heart. That worried him sometimes.

~BONES~

Brennan was sitting at her desk, looking at a file when Angela walked in carrying her sketchbook. "Here's a sketch of the victim. Her skull was intact so it made it easy to work with." Angela handed Brennan the sketch.

Brennan looked down at it and then held up the file she was previously looking at. "I just got her dental records. Name, Maggie Schilling. Nineteen."

Ange smiled sadly, "Then I guess you don't need this."

Brennan sighed, "She was a dancer. Bone markers in her metatarsals."

Angela was appalled, "God, to go from the freedom of dance to being crammed into a refrigerator. I hope she was already dead when they shut the door." Angela sat down across from her friend. They still hadn't talked about the most recent arrival of a special someone, "He's hotter than you said."

Brennan looked up confused, "Michael?"

Angela snorted softly, "Any other ex-lovers come knocking on your door today?"

Brennan just looked at her. "The 'ex' in ex-lover is not a variable. It's a constant, like the speed of light."

Angela smirked at her when she said, "Save your dirty talk for the hunky professor."

These were times when she wished Angela knew about her and Booth. "I can assure you, our relationship is purely platonic. What we share is a love of science." She added quickly, to sound like her scientific self, "Neither of us has the time or inclination for emotional complications."

Angela didn't sound convinced, "Sounds very reasonable."

Brennan nodded her head already thinking about what she was going to tell Booth when she was going to see him, "Yes. I have to get this data together for Booth."

Angela merely nodded, "Sure." She got up to leave and said on her way out, "Have a good dinner tonight."

~BONES~

Booth had gotten right to business when his wife walked into his office. He didn't know what to say to her. "Maggie Schilling went missing 11 months ago. Her parents got a ransom note demanding a million dollars. Negotiations, they dragged on for, oh, a couple of weeks. Then suddenly all contact stopped. The assumption was that the kidnappers killed her."

Brennan looked at her own file, "No visual physical trauma."

Booth asked her, "Cause of death?"

Brennan closed the file and looked up, "Not yet, but there are stress fractures on both wrists and we have some people running chemical analysis and toxicity screens on the effluent in the refrigerator."

Booth nodded his head, still not knowing what to say, "Okay. You'll call me later?"

Brennan was shocked that Booth hadn't said anything about Michael's reappearance in her life. She stood up, closed and locked his door, and sat back down. She stared at him with a very clinical eye. He was looking down at the file and he was worried, she saw that and she knew why. "Booth, I'm going out with Michael tonight for dinner."

Booth sighed heavily and rubbed his hand across his face. "Okay."

Brennan moved forward in her chair so she was sitting at the edge, trying to get as close as possible to his desk. "Booth, you're worried." She could see him start to protest, so she brought her hand up to silence him, "I know you're worried. But you don't have to be. I'm only going out with Michael to make everyone at the lab think there's something between us. We'll eat dinner, catch up on what we've been doing over the past three years and then I'll come home, to you. I never loved Michael, Booth. I left him for you. I'm married to you and nothing is going to change that, I don't want anything to change that."

Booth looked up from his file. Relief had flooded him when he heard Brennan say that it was all an act. He should have known, but when it came to Brennan, he didn't think clearly sometimes. He smiled at her and said, "Okay, I'll meet you at home then before you leave. Let me pick out what you should wear."

Brennan laughed at that, "What, so you can make me look unattractive for Michael? I don't think so. But I'll let you give me your opinion, only your opinion."

Booth's eye grew a shade dark as he said, "You could never look unattractive Bones. You're beautiful all the time."

Brennan smiled sweetly at Booth, blushing slightly, knowing that look he was getting. "Agent Booth, are you thinking what I think you're thinking about?"

Booth closed his file and stood up slowly, "If you mean, that I want to take my wife home and make love to her, then yes."

Brennan's smile widened as she leaned over and grabbed her bag, giving Booth an excellent view of her breasts. She stood up and walked over to him, patting him on his chest, "I'll meet you in the car." With that, she turned around and left his office, with a little more swing in her hips.

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth were kissing, neither had clothes on, when Brennan started to laugh softly, "I missed the reservation Booth."

Booth smiled widely as he trailed kissed down her shoulder and back, "Ah, well. That's the price we pay for scientific exploration and discovery, as you would put it."

Brennan laughed again, 'You realize that Michael means nothing to me, right?"

Booth nodded as he kissed his way back up to her other shoulder, "Of course. I'm just surprised that Michael would still think that he could start something with you after all this time."

Brennan tilted her head to the side, allowing Booth to suck on her pulse. She said huskily, "Well, time is an imposed construct."

Booth laughed at that, moving her so she was now on her back. "Oh, really?"

Brennan laughed again and brought her arms around his neck. "I wonder why Michael didn't come by."

Booth had started to kiss her along her jaw, making his way to her lips, when he said, "Oh, he did come. I heard him knocking at the door."

Brennan stopped his ministrations, "Booth! Why didn't you tell me?"

Booth looked down at her and smiled softly, brushing some of her hair behind her ear, "I don't like it that he wants to start something back up with you. You're mine and I know how you hate to hear that and how that makes me an alpha male and all, but those are the facts."

He waited for her to push him off of her enraged at him, but that didn't happen. Instead, her eyes softened when she said, "Booth, do you remember when you found out that I was seeing both you and Michael at the same time."

Booth rolled off of her and sighed heavily, "Yeah, of course, I remember that Bones. That was the biggest argument we've ever had."

Brennan rolled over so she was snuggled next to him, her hand drawing randomly on his abdomen. "Right, and when you told me you saw me with another man, you gave me an ultimatum. You told me that you could only be in a monogamous relationship and that I had to pick. Either you or Michael. Do you remember what happened?"

Of course, he remembered. He thought he had lost her. "You left my apartment."

Brennan nodded, "Because, in that moment, I saw how to hurt you were that I was with another man, even though at the time I still didn't get why monogamy was reasonable. But I didn't want to be the cause of your pain. It was then that I realized that I was willing to change some of my beliefs for you. So I left to tell Michael I was leaving him. We had had our fun, but I wasn't in love with him. You were more important to me, Booth. I chose you that night. I will always choose you Booth. Even though I cannot tell the future, I am certain that I will always love you. I love you, Seeley."

Booth tilted her face so she was looking at him. He placed a tender kiss on her lips before he said, "I know that now. I love you too, babe."

Brennan smiled, happy she alleviated Booth's fears. "And next time, let me know when someone is at the door. I also need to make another date with Michael, or he'll think something is wrong."

Booth chuckled and nodded his head, "Okay Bones. Next time, I'll let you know while we're making love, that someone is at the door."

Brennan rolled her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. She let her thoughts go back to their case and she sighed heavily, "Booth, I found some stress fractures on the wrist, not much else. But I will find more."

Booth could feel her sadness, more than see it. He kissed her on her temple, "I know you will Bren."

Brennan held onto Booth a little bit tighter when she told him, "She did fight, Booth. They kept her tied up like an animal... but she fought. That's how she got those stress fractures because she was bound and struggling. I just…I keep seeing her face." Booth tightened his hold on her before she said, "You know how it is."

He kissed her softly again on her head, "I know Bones. I know."

~BONES~

Brennan walked up the platform stairs with Michael right behind her. She had apologized to him about her missing dinner, making up the excuse that she just got wrapped up in the case. She said to everyone, "Good morning, all." Brennan then stepped up to the table. Hodgins and Zack moved toward the stairs as Michael came up, blocking him. The guys just stared/glared at Michael.

Angela came over to Brennan and whispered, "You can take the day off. You deserve one day."

Brennan looked at Angela confused, "Michael wanted to look at our equipment."

Angela just sighed, "I'm gonna let that one go. The guys wanted to meet him anyway."

Brennan looked back at the two men, "They could learn a lot from him." Brennan waited for the three of them to meet, oblivious as to their conversation. When Zach finally came over she asked him, "What have you found?"

Zach said, "X-rays reveal low bone density and the parathyroid hormone levels are also low." He passed Brennan an envelope containing the x-rays. She took them out and looked over them while Zach continued, "There is a medical condition called hyperparathyroidism."

Brennan nodded her head, "Symptoms include muscle weakness, brittle bones. Yeah, I know."

Michael jumped in eager to one-up his former student. She had just told him her theory when she was apologizing. "You may be premature with your struggle theory."

Brennan looked up, a little offended. "I doubt that."

Michael gave her a semi-smug look, "You mean you don't want to be doubted."

Angela and Hodgins exchanged looks at their interactions. Tension much.

Brennan gave him a deadpan look, "I can take it."

Michael quickly added, "The wrist fractures could've resulted from her medical condition."

Brennan didn't like how Michael was treating her, "Unlikely. However…"

Michael ignored that and continued to get back at Brennan, "Or been an unrelated cause of nontraumatic fissures."

All three of the squints looked at each definitely feeling the tension now. Brennan couldn't believe Michael would say such things. "Nontraumatic? Look at these."

Michael shrugged his shoulders, happy to have gotten back at her for last night. "It's something to consider. The last thing you want to do is jump to conclusions without evidence. I mean, I know how much you want to find out who did this."

Hodgins jumped in, trying to save a fight from starting. "This seems like an appropriate moment to discuss human goop." Brennan looked beyond annoyed with Michael and his assumptions. But Hodgins continued, "Chemical analysis of the liver and kidney tissues reveal significant evidence of the narcotic hydromorphone."

Brennan looked at Hodgins, "Hydromorphone?"

Michael told her, "Also known as hospital heroin."

Brennan asked Hodgins, "In what kind of concentration?"

Hodgins explained, "Given her probable size and weight, it's fatal."

Angela needed to know what all the tension was about. "Where did you go to dinner last night?"

Brennan looked at her confused and chose to ignore that question, turning back to Hodgins, "We need to know if that amount was accrued over time or delivered in one large dose."

Angela asked Brennan annoyed, "You didn't come back to the lab, did you?"

Michael answered, "We didn't go out. I made a frittata."

Hodgins looks annoyed by these interruptions. Angela smiled, misunderstanding what Michael was saying. "Oh, wow. He cooks too. Can we share him?" She looked at Brennan as she asked.

Brennan ignored this too. "We also need to know if the hydromorphone was administered intravenously or orally."

Michael saw that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Brennan right then. "I should get going. I'm meeting with the board at the university. Call you after my appointment. It was nice meeting you all."

Michael left and the squints all stood on the other side of the table and looked at Brennan. She could have laughed at their expressions, "What? Is it so odd for everyone to see me with a man?" When they all nodded, she huffed and told Hodgins, "Print out the levels of hydromorphone you found in her system." She then turned to Zach, "I want you to find the overload point that would cause the stress fractures in her wrist and examine the left ilium. There seems to be some kind of degeneration on the edge."

~BONES~

Booth joined Brennan in the living room, while FBI agents milled around, carrying out boxes, and taking pictures of the place. "Well, the fridge we found Maggie in is a match with the marks on the Costellos' floor."

Brennan looked down at some of the boxes in front of her. "They're sadomasochistic fetishists."

Booth was disgusted by this, "Yeah." He picks up a box and looked down at it, "Turned the basement into a fun room."

Brennan reached into the box looking at the various items, "Seeking sexual gratification through the manipulation of power." She pulled out a spiked collar and gave it an odd look. "Probably the oldest of fetishes, master-slave. It's all about dominance." She dropped the collar back into the box, a little disgusted herself.

Booth shook his head, "Well, this only comes up when the bloom comes off the rose if you know what I mean."

Brennan brow furrowed as she looked at Booth, "I don't know what you mean."

Booth walked over to her and whispered discreetly, "You know, when the regular stuff…when it gets old, you need to spice it up, it's over. When sex is good, you don't need any help."

Brennan's eyes widened as Booth explained it to her. "Oh…that's for sure." She grinned widely, thinking about last night. Booth just kept staring at her, which Brennan took as the need for an explanation. "I was just saying that I myself feel no inclination toward either pain or dominance when it comes to sex."

Booth leaned in and squeezed her hip slightly. He said in a teasing tone, "Are you sure?"

Brennan leaned back just the slightest bit, exposing her neck a little to torment Booth, as she said, "Yeah, I'm sure."

Booth licked his lips, restraining himself from mauling his wife at a crime scene in front of everyone. He pulled back with one last squeeze, "Because you can be very bossy."

Booth turned away with a smile breaking out on his face. Brennan grabbed a whip from the box and hit his arm playfully. Booth smile however fell from his face as he saw a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs. He pulled them out from a box and held them up as an officer led Mary and Scott out in handcuffs, "Look at him, huh? Woo! Look at him. All smiley. I bet he just loves these things."

Booth turned toward Brennan showing her the cuffs. Brennan took them from his pencil and said, "These could explain the stress fractures. Her bones were brittle from the disease. Struggling would cause the cracks we saw."

~BONES~

Booth and Michael were standing beside each other. Michael had never met Booth before, he didn't even that Brennan broke it off with him because of Booth.

And Booth wanted to keep it that way. "You trained her well, Doc."

Michael smiled slightly and nodded, "She's brilliant. Little cocky, though."

Booth forced out a laugh. He could see that Michael was still mad about Brennan not going out with him the day before. "Yeah. Tell me about it." Booth watched her converse with Zach and murmured, "Pretty good partner though. What you see is what you get. That's a rare quality. That's just between us, isn't it?" Booth then remembered who he was talking to and snapped out of it.

Brennan turned around just in time too, "Michael?"

Zach swiveled his chair around to face both men, "Dr. Brennan found marks on the medial malleoli, both left and right."

Brennan explained triumphantly, "Her legs were bound."

Zach nodded his head, "Mirror erosion patterns from the bones rubbing together over time."

Booth held back his smile for Brennan's work. Instead, he said, "If this were the result of sex games, then the legs, they wouldn't be bound together." Michael looked back at Booth confused. "Well, come on, you know? Looking for a little nooky, the last thing you'd tie together are the legs."

Michael looked back at Brennan and shrugged, "I'm not convinced. Brittle bones from her thyroid condition. The damage could've happened in a very short time."

Brennan walked over to the table and pointed at the bones, "We also found evidence of inflammation on her right humerus and ilium."

Zach jumped in to help out his mentor, "The bone abnormalities indicated pathosis from lying in one position for a long time."

Brennan smiled slightly again, "The only reasonable explanation is long-term bondage."

Michael shook his head, "Decreased bone density could've caused the inflammation. This isn't definitive." Brennan and Booth shared a look of annoyance, while said cheerily, "I hear there's a nice little French place near here I'd like to try."

Brennan was not going to let Michael do this. "I still have five minutes."

~BONES~

Michael, Brennan, Booth, and Angela were standing around the Angelator which was showing a girl lying on her side. Michael looked on amazed, "My department's still working with Polaroids."

Brennan smiled, "So what do you think?"

Michael had to give her props, "Very impressive. Especially to the nonprofessional."

Ange smirked and said, "You want science? Give me the estimated time of captivity."

Bones provided, "Approximately three weeks."

Angela made a few adjustments and the image showed what the girl went through. "Okay, here are your affected areas. Now during an advanced time simulation…:

Booth stepped up behind Brennan and whispered in her ear, "You're winning, right?" Brennan nodded happily.

Michael didn't look happy as he said, "Can I see your findings?" Brennan handed him some papers and he flipped through them. "This appears to be indisputable."

Brennan nodded her head again proudly but said somberly, "The narcotic found in her system was not the result of recreational drug abuse."

Angela added, "The inflammation would've been very painful and the pain would've increased over time."

Brennan told him with a hint of anger at the two suspects, "They kept upping the dose of hydromorphone until they gave her too much and she died. Those people bound and killed that girl."

Michael sighs, knowing that he was beaten again. "I yield. French restaurant?"

Brennan smirked, "I'm more in the mood for Italian. I need to put together the evidence packet for Booth to deliver to the U.S. Attorney."

Michael shook his head. He wouldn't even be doing this if he wasn't trying to get her in his bed again. "I'll meet you at your place." Michael handed back Brennan her papers and walked away, obviously not happy.

Brennan smiled as Booth held out his fist. "Good work." Brennan looked down at his fist and looked back at him. Her husband could be quite strange sometimes.

~BONES~

Angela was with Brennan in the lounge when she asked, "Do you really think he can handle your success?"

Brennan thought Michael could, they had in the past. "Because of today? No, we've always been competitive."

Angela sighed slightly, "I know, but he's a man and his student, a woman, has surpassed him."

Brennan shook her head, "Michael is extremely secure, Ange."

Angela just looked at her friend. Sometimes she could be so oblivious. "Honey, when you stuck it to him today, he was upset."

Brennan didn't think so. "It was a healthy debate between scientists. You don't know Michael."

Angela raised one of her eyebrows, "I know men. And I know what happens when two people start sleeping together."

Brennan was pleased that Angela thought that she and Michael had begun sleeping together. It meant her plans had worked out. But, she also needed to tell the truth. "It's not like that. We're friends, colleagues, that's all."

Angela couldn't believe Bren was keeping her out in the dark. "Colleagues with benefits."

Brennan looked at her confused. "I don't know what that means, but Michael and I are not involved. I'm sorry if that's difficult for you to understand but what we have isn't traditional."

Angela snorted at that. Yeah, right, like she was going to believe that Brennan wasn't sleeping with her old fling. "Don't talk to me about traditional. Okay? I've dated circus people. You and Michael, you have something, and that's okay. That's good, even. Just be honest about it."

Booth was walking up the stairs to the lounge when he called, "Bones?" He walked up to the two women and smiled brightly, "The judge is holding them without bail. The U.S. Attorney is thinking about sending you flowers."

Brennan smiled, "The facts are facts."

Booth looked uncomfortable all of a sudden and Brennan didn't like it. "Uh, Bones, I have to ask. How much have you been sharing with, uh, the professor?"

Brennan looked at Angela and then back at Booth. "None of your business."

Booth understood that they had to keep up their act and clarified, "I mean, on the case."

Brennan was actually shocked to hear that. "Oh. I bounce everything off him. Why?"

Booth knew that Brennan didn't see the harm in Michael. Even though they hadn't spent much time together, whenever they were together it was surrounded by the case. "Well, you gotta keep him out of it from now on."

Brennan was shocked yet again. Was this some way to keep her away from Michael? Because she had told him there was nothing between the two of them, didn't he believe her? "Out of it? Why?"

Booth definitely looked uncomfortable now. "Well, you know that appointment he had today?"

Brennan nodded her head slowly, not sure where this was going. "Yeah."

Booth looked down and then looked back up with regret in his eyes. He didn't want to be the one to tell her this. "He met with the Costello's lawyer. Michael is their expert witness." Brennan couldn't believe it. Michael knew what the interview was for and he still….she was outraged.

Booth said quietly, "It's his job to tear apart the case that you've built."

~BONES~

Brennan and Michael were at the restaurant. Brennan was still extremely mad at Michael. "How could I not be upset? Basically, you were spying on me."

Michael couldn't believe how Brennan was reacting. She had changed since the last time he was with her. "Spying? It's a criminal proceeding. You're required by law to disclose all your findings to the defense anyway."

Brennan shook her head, "I'm only required to provide you with the raw facts we intend to enter into evidence, not the process by which I arrived at those facts."

Michael brought his hands up in surrender. He didn't want them fighting, he wanted to be working his magic. "I apologize. That's a nuance that escaped me."

Brennan sighed, "Why didn't you just tell me, Michael?"

Michael tried to come up with an excuse, to try and placate her. "Because the defense isn't required to tell the prosecution anything. In fact, it's grounds for a mistrial. Look, I've never done this before. You're the teacher in this situation. I'm the student."

Brennan smirked at that. This was the Michael she knew. "A little competitive."

Michael smiled, seeing that he was getting through a little. "Part of the job at the university is to be an expert witness and yes, I would like to do that job at least as well as you, but if you feel I've overstepped some boundary here, I'll back out of the case."

Brennan paused and considered that offer. "No. But if you stay on, we can't see each other anymore outside this case."

Michael couldn't believe that Brennan was acting like that. "Really?"

Brennan gave him her most proper smile. "Yes."

Michael tried to laugh it off and said, "Well, would I have to do it tonight or should I order another bottle of wine?" Brennan knew that look he was giving her and she was about to say that she did think it should start tonight, but Michael said, "I apologize Tempe." He leaned in to kiss her on her lips, but Brennan moved her face so he kissed her cheek instead.

Brennan pulled away, "Michael, I mean it. We can't see each other anymore. I'm not looking to start anything back up. Now, I have to go. I'll see you at the lab." Brennan stood up and left a stunned Michael sitting at the table.

~BONES~

Michael was examining the bones while everyone else watched. Booth walked up to the group and asked, "He still at it?"

Angela looked on at the two, bored out of her mind. She said sarcastically, "Yep. And it is fascinating."

Brennan had told him the night before of Michael's attempts to spend the night with her. He wanted to punch the guy and some. "Keep an eye on him."

Goodman whispered, "That's not going to be a problem." He then nodded to Hodgins and Zach, who were videotaping Michael. They both nodded back. Booth gave both of them a thumbs-up, happy to see that Brennan's team had her back. They returned the gesture.

Angela asked amused, "Did you just give Zach and Hodgins a sign of encouragement?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, you know, that's the first time I've been able to look at them with imagining Moe knocking their heads together."

Angela and Goodman shared a look of amusement as Goodman said, "Agent Booth, you're accessing your inner squint."

Booth looked somewhat concerned that Brennan was starting to rub off on him too much. Would they start suspecting things?

Michael looked up and asked, "Tempe, you listed an avulsion fracture on the right femur. It looks minor. Do you consider this evidence?"

Booth stepped forward, happy that he could finally say something to Michael in his authoritative voice, "Dr. Brennan's conclusions belong to the prosecution."

Michael was a little taken aback at the tone in Booth's voice. He would never say it out loud, but it scared him a little. "I have no interest in destroying your case, Agent Booth. I'm just trying to get a sense of…"

Goodman decided to add his own thoughts. "Of her interpretations of data, to which you are not privy, Dr. Stires."

Brennan turned around, pleased to see that her friends were looking out for her. "I understand the game the doctor is trying to play and I'm perfectly capable of dealing with him myself. I'm sure he's just thrown by findings he would have missed." She was going to enjoy bringing Michael down.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan walked through the lab to her office. "Bones, you okay?"

Brennan huffed, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Booth placed a consoling hand on the small of her back. "Because the nutty professor's grading your paper. What'd he give you anyway, huh? I was always happy with a B."

Brennan sighed, "He only did that to get back at me for turning him down. The rat bastard. Plus, I never got a B and I never will."

Brennan continues walking to her office, while Booth stopped and said, "That's my girl."

~BONES~

Deaver and Levitt walked away from them. Brennan turned to Booth, angry, "Can you believe that?" When Booth didn't say anything, she said a little hurt. "What? You agree with her?"

Booth brought his hands on top of her shoulders, "Well, not entirely."

Brennan swiped them off her shoulders and said angrily, "'Not entirely.' So that means partly. Well, I was perfectly clear. Didn't you think I was clear?"

Booth sighed and ran his hand over his face, "Sometimes. And, um... sometimes you were... a little hard to follow."

Brennan looked at him a little offended, "What are you talking about? When?"

Booth mumbled, "When you were talking." And then said more clearly, "Listen, Bones, I know you care about this case, but I think you should let them see that."

Brennan looked at him concerned, "So, I should perform?"

Booth nodded slightly, "Just a little bit, yeah. I mean, do you see how I portrayed myself as a no-nonsense, tough-guy cop?"

Brennan sighed aggravated, "You are a no-nonsense, tough-guy cop!"

Booth smiled, "Exactly! And I think that it wouldn't hurt if the jury saw who you really are.

Brennan felt her walls closing up at that. She couldn't do that, it was her only protection. She said hotly, "Well, I don't know who you think that is, Booth because this is who I really am. Just this."

Booth groaned as Brennan walked away. She ran right into Michael. "God. Sorry."

Michael grabbed hold of her shoulders and said, "I'm okay. Are you?"

Brennan sighed, "Sure." She needed to talk to someone that was like her. "Well, truthfully, this whole thing is pretty awkward. Don't you think?"

Michael didn't really know what to say. He was mad at her after all. "We're just doing our job. You'll be fine."

Brennan nodded, "It's just, they have this jury consultant. They want to turn this into a melodrama. They don't understand what a scientist is."

Michael could have laughed at that. She was breaking under the pressure, this was just what he needed. "Tempe, we're not allowed to talk about the case."

Brennan sighed. "I know, I'm just saying…"

Michael knew exactly what he was going to use on the stand now. "My guy's gonna freak if he sees us talking."

Brennan nodded, "Sure. Sorry."

~BONES~

Deaver looked at Brennan slightly appalled by her. "Dr. Brennan, you need to learn the difference between reality and perception. A trial is all about perception."

Brennan stepped back a little taken aback. "Wow. You're the reason civilization is declining."

Deaver looked at Booth, "Talk to her."

Booth gave her a straight-faced look, "I kind of agree with her."

Deaver gave Booth an annoyed look and walked away. Brennan turned to Booth and said genuinely, "Thanks."

Booth whispered, "I really don't agree with you either, I just…I don't like her and how she was treating you."

Brennan turned to Levitt annoyed at Booth, "Put me back on the stand. I can rebut everything that Michael said."

Booth gave Levitt a stern look, "She can do this."

Levitt looked at both of them and said, "I'll think about it." He sighed and walked away.

Brennan turned to Booth concern and aggravation lacing her voice, "I've never been in this position before, Booth. I need to get back up there."

Booth squeezed her shoulder, "All right. Just let me talk to him."

~BONES~

Brennan quickly left the courtroom, Michael was chasing after her. "Tempe. Tempe! Tempe, I'm sorry. What can I do?"

Brennan looked at him for a few moments disgusted by what she saw, then turned and began to walk away. She was just angry beyond belief.

Booth ran up to her and said, "Bones! The Costello's are trying to cop a plea to a charge that won't mean the death penalty. They know they're going down."

Brennan turned on him, slapping his face. She watched as Booth grabbed the cheek she just hit. He knew he deserved that. She said heatedly, "You had no right Booth. There are things that are private."

Booth let his hand fall. "Yeah. Maybe you're right, but you know what? This was my case too. All right? I needed to do what I knew would help the jury see the Brennan I know." He sighed and looked away, he hated seeing her hurt, but the murderers were going to walk. He couldn't have that. Looking over her shoulder he said, "I'll see you later Bones."

~BONES~

Brennan was in her office looking at a picture of her and Michael when Angela walked in. She didn't have any feelings for him anymore if she ever did. But Booth had really hurt her today. She didn't like that feeling. Angela broke through her thoughts though with, "Guilty on all counts."

Brennan looked up and said, "Yeah."

Angela looked down at the photo Brennan was holding and asked, "So he owes you another dinner, huh?"

Brennan shook her head. "No. I won't be seeing him anymore." She loved Booth. Which scared her that even after all that he had done, she could still love him. She couldn't get her heart crushed again, not like when she was fifteen and her parents disappeared.

Angela once again broke through her thoughts, "Sorry."

Brennan shook her head, "I was foolish to be so open with him. It was irrational. You know how you get when you're tired."

Angela smiled sadly, "Yeah. Wanna you go out? Grab a drink?"

Brennan needed time to think, to process everything. "Um, I think I just want to work."

Angela knew that there was something else bothering her but she wasn't going to push, this time. "Okay."

As Angela left, Booth walked in apprehensively. He felt terrible about everything. He knocked softly on her doorframe, "Hey, Bones."

Brennan looked up and then looked behind him to make sure no one was listening to them, "What is it, Booth? I'm not feeling very forgiving right now."

Booth stepped in a little closer. "Yeah, I know, but, uh, we have a case." Brennan looked at him and thought about it. She then grabbed her stuff and followed Booth to their car.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were on the Washington Memorial with Bones examining a burnt corpse. "Victim is an adult male, 35 to 40 years old. From the pattern of the burning, I'd say an accelerant was used. Could you hand me my bag?"

Booth grabbed the bag as a gust of wind came. "Yeah, sure. Listen, do you want my coat or something? It's cold up here."

Brennan looked up at him and said, "If I did, I'd ask for it."

Booth looked down at his shoes as he said, "Yeah. Sorry." He then looked back at Brennan. "And, um, I'm sorry Bren, I shouldn't have done that. I hurt you and I'm sorry."

Brennan stared at him and saw his sincere regret. "You had something to accomplish. You found a logical way of getting what you needed. Probably would've done the same thing."

Booth began to smile as he handed Brennan the tool she wanted. He would have to find a way to make it up to her though. He needed to gain her trust again.

**Author's Note:**

> Took over from the real author of this story on fanfiction.net .


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